The Hit List
by Animefreak557
Summary: In a world where fascism reigns supreme,there exists something known as the Hitlist. Each rulers write down the name of an enemy of the state,and hitmen are tasked with removing them.When Feliciano and Lovino Vargas,grandsons of an influential Italian man end up on the Hitlist, it would seem that they had no chance. Until they befriend two of the hitmen sent after them that is...
1. Chapter 1

_Danke_\- Thank you

_Bitte_\- Your Welcome/Please

_Deutschland_ \- Germany

(^し^) _Become one with me, da~_

_I don't own Hetalia~_

_The Hit List Chapter 1_

Twelve year old Feliciano had no idea how he and his thirteen year old brother, Lovino, got into this situation. Was it because they sometimes skip out on their morning lessons? Perhaps it was just another form of karma. But whatever it was, it's a living nightmare. What did they do to get this treatment? Nothing… The memory of that unfaithful horrendous night was like a hazy dream. Remembering only the most memorable and frightening parts of that dream. For instance, the tear gas that made their eyes and throat burn, the screams of household servants that were loyal and supportive for their grandfather's uprising, and the violent gun shots that echoed throughout the estate eventually hitting their grandfather in the chest. Lovino tried calling for help with Feliciano's assistance, but nobody alive was present to save them. Placing their hands on Grandpa Roma's chest, they tried to stop the bleeding, but the warm oozing liquid continued to soak his shirt. Soldiers began to flood the room once the a cry of victory was made.

But what exactly did they do wrong? So here they are, sitting in a black van with smears of rusty blood on their clothing, hands and feet cuffed like a criminal, with the feeling that everything won't be alright. The younger twin woke up to find his unconscious brother leaning on him. Seeing that he was okay, he smiled. At least Lovino was alright. Inhaling to take a sigh of relief, a familiar scent soiled his nose. He looked at the remainder of the van to figure out where it was coming from, hoping to find the source. His eyes trailed the pile of bodies that were neatly stacked and roped up in disfigured positions to the blank open eyed stare of Grandpa Roma.

"AHH!" a jolt of fear hit his body. He expeditiously attempted to yank out of the iron chains, "W-why?! You killed my Grandpa! What have we ever done to you!?" This shook all of the foreign soldiers causing some of them to drop their pen or book on the floor. Picking up their utensils, they watched the young boy in annoyance as he kicked and screamed in his language. A soldier came up to him, kneeled down and tied rope over his mouth. Feliciano's face got flustered and he got tired due to all the energy he has used up that day. Once the young Italian was worn out, the soldiers continued doing their jobs like nothing happened.

Feliciano felt sick to the stomach. Why did they want them to live and for everyone else to die? He and his brother are all they have left, but he felt so weak; wanting the selfish desire of parental protection. Hot tears ran down his face while he cried silently to himself, wishing for Lovino to wake up so that he could tell him, "It's alright Feli".

Something suddenly tapped Feliciano on the leg making him jump up with surprise. Glancing to lap he saw that it was a bloody hand from the pile beside. Suddenly the hand gripped the young boy's palm ever so lightly. Snapping his eyes open, Feliciano eyes made its way to the owner's arm- Grandpa Roma. His grip was shaky, as if he was using all the strength that he had saved for this moment.

"Hmp!" Feliciano's quiet voice quivered in the rope with a tad bit of excitement. Grandpa's blank stare forcefully turned into a sad but hopeful smile. "Feli… quiet- we don't want them to hear" he hitched out with a whisper. "Life will be harder for you and your brother, but you mustn't give up on our dream. If only Lovino was awake to hear this..." he stopped for a moment to take a struggling deep breath. Feliciano gripped his hand tightly and gave him looks of perturbation, but listened to every word, knowing that this was Grandpa's last conversation with him. The elder continued even though his chest ached with godforsaken pain after making sure no was listening, "I've feared that something like this would happen, that's why I have hidden your heritage in a secret place that only I know of. You are to use it to rebuild the Ambassadors' Headquarters and gain power to overthrow the Dictatorship countries that did this to us…" His eyes began to droop into his eternal sleep after he dropped hazel rings in Feliciano's hand. "These are the keys." Feliciano looked down in his hands and he looked at the rings with confusion.

"… your heritage is locate-", he stopped once more, only longer than the previous stops.

Feliciano fought his way out of the rope, and shook Roma's arm panicking "What is it, Grandpa! Please finish!" Roma when back to his stare that he had before, but this time it wasn't a fraud.

"Was machst du?!" one blonde soldier shouted. His heavy footsteps couldn't match the beating of Feliciano's heart, so without thinking, he leaned down and put both rings in his mouth under his tongue. When he confronted the Italian boy he continued to yell at him, but of course Feliciano didn't know what he was saying. All the boy could do was stare and pray that he doesn't hit him. Weight was suddenly lifted off of his shoulder and a slight yaw was heard behind him.

"Lovino!" His only family… was okay.

Lovino looked around and began to gag slightly at the sight of dozens of corpses in one setting, including Grandpa. But unlike Feliciano, Lovino doesn't like showing weakness.

"Who the hell are you?" Lovino snapped at the blonde soldier that clearly had no idea of what they were saying, yet they continued to bicker and fight. It would seem that Lovino was winning until, the blonde pulled out his handgun from his holster pointing the barrel at his heart.

The older twin was awestruck. He sat there wide eyed like a kitten without his mother. Both brothers looked at the man in fear earning the armed soldier satisfaction. He placed the gun back into the holster, and he pulled down his uniformed jacket walking away.

Lovino stared at the back of the man and started to shake. Never in his life had he felt so useless! Feliciano grabbed his brother's hand to alleviate the building stress that he had to endure. But he knew he had to tell him everything, even if it kills both of them they had to fulfill Grandpa Roma's dying wish.

Like mentioned before, a living nightmare. All of those bad people that your parents warn you were after the young Vargas brothers. They finally reached their final destination: The Empire of the Greater German People. When the van entered the city, the natives cheered and waved their red, yellow, and black flags in the air. They could hear cheering outside the moving van as well as the inside. Pats and handshakes were exchanged when the van went to a complete stop. Only the brothers made it to these lands, for the soldiers had to bury the most of the bodies. Soldiers on the outside opened the back of the vehicle and gave a humane nod to the soldiers and a pat on the back.

Untying Feliciano and Lovino's ankles, they threw them out of the truck to the earthy surface of the mushy warm mud below. A roar of laughter filled the evening sky when the soldiers forced them to stand again. Mud and dirt covered their faces and matted their amber hair into a sickening coal black. Pushing them to keep going down the streets of Germany to the dictator courts, the citizens threw little pebbles of rocks at them.

"Fratello! It hurts!" Feliciano whimpered, guarding his head and the back of his neck as they were pelted by more stones.

"Just keep going!" Lovino shouted over the loud roars of supposed threats.

Feliciano's legs began to grow weaker and the more he walked the more he began to limp, but he knew he had to keep walking. It feel it like he was about to die. He and his brother haven't been fed enough for his liking, so he had little strength… Why can't they see? We didn't do anything to anyone to hurt anyone! Then he started slowing down. He was emotionally and physically exhausted; he had never had to deal with so much before, and it was very nerve wracking. He passed out and fell on the ground with a 'flop'.

The city's people continued to throw rocks and stones at him when he fell to the ground, leaving him with even more bruises forming on his frail body. German soldiers continued to yell at them in the background of all the chaos, but all Lovino could hear was his heart pounding furiously. He quickly ran by his brother's side and tried to help him, but was stopped by the dangling chains.

"Get up Feliciano! You have to get up!" For the first time in years he shed tears for his younger brothers. Squatting down to encourage Feliciano to keep going, one of the soldiers roughly pulled him away from his brother and started to repeatedly kick Feliciano in his stomach- shouting and bickering to his poor brother. The citizens of the town are horrid. Never in their lives have they come across such heartless people. In the corner of Feliciano's eye he saw the people of the town trying to get to them- to hurt them, but the only reason that they hadn't done so was because the soldiers and government held them down. The soldiers that were supposed to escort the the brothers slowly started to abandon Feliciano. Thoughts flooded throughout Lovino's head. They were so cruel to leave Feli! Just watching his brother get treated like that, it felt like Hell itself.

Gathering the last bit of strength he dragged his feet to his sibling, and once again squatted down but facing away from him.

"Feli, get on." Feliciano's arms made it way to his shoulders and gripped its way around his neck. Shakily, but surely, Lovino got up and started walking to everyone's surprise. The crowd booed and shouted unholy things at the preteens. They were clearly not happy that they hadn't broken the two boys' spirits.

Today is the day that Lovino understood the true meaning of hatred, and suffering. He would avenge Grandpa Roma. He would bring the Vargas name honor again. He would _never_ forgive the people who did this to them.

Pebbles and stones continued to hit their heads and backs like an unending rain. But this didn't stop Lovino. "Let them enjoy their victory," he whispered. "One day, we will be the ones throwing those bloodied stones! These people- no, these monsters- they will suffer." Lovino carried the weight of his brothers until his passed out of exhaustion, letting the blanket of darkness overcome him.

* * *

"Lovino- wake up!" Feliciano shook his brother from his sleeping state. This place was clearly not the brutal town or the smelly van. It looked more like a dungeon, but it's a lot cleaner compared to the stuff they see on T.V. Their bodies felt a tad bit better from the lack of ropes and chains during their ride. Lovino's eye groggily started to open as he asked in an inaudible tone, "Where are we?" He tried getting up but it was practically impossible for him to do so, due to the enormous amount energy he had to use in order to make it close enough to their destination.

"Ve~ fratello! Lay down! You're hurt!" Feliciano tried to reach out to help him, but was rejected by Lovino with a slap on the hand. "Not as much as you!" he looked away after stating that. His younger brothers set his hands down and placed them on his lap, looking at the other side of the cell. A sharp ache fell upon his stomach causing him to slightly furrow his brows in pain. Feliciano faced his body away from his brothers so that he wouldn't notice, but that plan was ruined when he let out a ragged, uncontrollable cough.

"FELICIANO!" Lovino made his way towards his brother's to aid him in any way. Gagging Feliciano spitted out two rings: the rings that Grandpa Roma gave them. "I had to swallowed the rings when we got out the van...", he looked up and softly smiled at his brother, " If I hadn't, they would've taken it away probably..." Feliciano managed to say in-between his coughs. The more he coughed, the harder it became for him to breathe. Gradually his stomach began to hurt. "You really are something pulling that move! Don't do that it isn't safe". But he had to mentally thank Feliciano. If they lost those rings they would've been screwed. "Really fratello I-" he pulled away his hand to find blood covering his palm.

"You call that okay!?" Lovino made a desperate attempt to get up and lay his brother against the cold stone wall. After doing so, he cursed under his breath and lifted up Feliciano's shirt up to look at the damage done to his brother. Red and light pink gashes covered Feliciano's stomach Lovino's eyes widened as he held back tears.

He couldn't protect Feliciano. His own younger brother... the only one that stood by him when everyone despised him. He dropped his head down and lightly hugged his brother, making sure that he wouldn't hurt him. "Sorry… I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'm sorry..." he began to weep.

"Uh? Fratello, I'm okay! See, see! I'm ok-" tears rolled down Feliciano's cheeks as he started to think realistically. No one will save them. Grandpa was more than likely lying to them to make them hopeful of living. But just like what Grandpa said, life will be harder for them. No more watching T.V. until midnight. No more eating pasta and sleeping in. No more happiness. No matter how much pain he is in right now, he's even more upset for disappointing Grandpa and Lovino all those times. He promise that he won't forget to clean up his room! What did he do to receive this treatment? He doesn't know…

BANG BANG BANG!

Lovino quickly lift his head from Feliciano's chest to look at the guards that was standing there, unfazed by their bruises and bloodshot, watery eyes. Behind the German soldiers, there stood a figure that clearly showed staus. The soldiers yelled out a weird chant of celebration, "_Hagel Roderich Edelstein_". The figure stepped into the moonlight to reveal him wearing a similar uniform like the soldiers, but with medals covering his right breast pocket. His shoes were nicely polished as if he had never set foot into the outside world. He smiled and started speaking in broken Italian, hands folded behind his back. "Because of your family's tyrant behavior, you are forced to carry the shame of carrying the Vargas name." He stopped to look at the brothers before smiling more. "But we will spare you if you work for us. I am told that your Grandfather kept treasure deep in the Mediterranean. If you would like our protection and your life you would tell us everything you know."

"We don-" Lovino was stopped by the leader. "No- Not to us, but our machinery." He turned around and began walking off before saying something in his native tongue. "_Ja der Herr_!" the soldiers saluted to their leader and opened the cell to roughly get the Vargas brothers out out. "Hey whatcha' doing you retard!" Lovino yelled out insults, but that was all he could do. He'd rather yell and curse them in a language that they don't know then to communicate in the one language that they can understand: violence.

All they would remember were the blinding lights, the confusing broken down Italian that the German soldiers used to ask them questions of their Grandpa's treasure, life at the Vargas estate, and personal questions, using a machine that was attached on their temples, fingers, and chest. Their experience was a blur but all they knew was that the "leader" said that they were telling the truth, so now they are in one of the servant dorms, changing into their German clothing. It's not that they were complaining, but the clothing that the maids provided looked very childish and feminine. Just like a maids outfit. When they got out snickers from the maids and guards filled the hall.

The brothers already knew that this was going to happen. It's not very common in Italy for men to wear women's clothing . Feliciano looked at his feet in shame. He wishes that everyone would stop laughing, staring, and glaring at them.

Lovino grabbed the young boy's hand and smiled, "Feliciano, head up, back straight, and look strong. This is what they want… remember about Grandpa's dying wish." He lifted their hands to show the hazel brown ring that Grandpa Roma gave them.

Feliciano smiled, "you're right, Lovi!" He followed the guard and looked forward ahead. If Lovino can be strong and think positively, than he will do the same! "Ve~!"

"What did you say?"

"Ve~! I don't know! It just slipped out of my mouth! I am just happy!"

Lovino smiled and walked side by side with his brother. For now on, he will be tougher to protect his brother. He is the only person in the world that loves him.

Sadly, they did not know of the trials they would come across to in their search for happiness.

* * *

"Lovino! Don't take him away!"

They were in the main hall surrounded by dozens of officials and dictators from different countries. The room was quite spacious, but not big enough for brothers to escape. It was a hopeful thought, but they already knew that they couldn't escape. The large double doors were heavily guarded, leaving them with no chance of escape. The "leader" of the German soldiers was actually the dictator of The Empire of the Greater German People. Lord _Roderich Edelstein III_ promised them that they would be safe and that they were in the clear!

"You lied! You said that we will be safe and together!" Two guards forced Lovino to the ground when he made another attempt to run to Feliciano.

"You've mistaken. I said that you'll be under our protection and that you'll keep your lives if you cooperate with us." With a sigh of annoyance he rose his hand to sign them off.

"Take him away".

"Where are you taking him?" Feliciano tried to run to his brother but stopped when his stomach began to have that sharp pain again.

"Remember! Don't forget me!" Lovino was picked up by one of the servants. But before he was taking away, he gave Feliciano one more sad, determined smile. "Be confident! Don't let them step on you..."

"Ti amo, fratello!"

"Ti amo..."

SLAM!

The door closed and so did Feliciano's childhood. That night they led Feliciano to his servant quarters: a narrow room with one bed, and a big window that showed the bright city below. Off in the horizon he could see the vehicle that carried his brother. "Ve~" He touched the glass window and leaned against the frame and cried. "Fratello!"

Feliciano held his stomach and he closed his eyes. If he didn't think about food then he could forget that he is hungry. He held his stomach. "Ve~ I want...pasta."

"Maybe I could get some grape juice and some food from Grand-" Oh wait… He isn't home…

CLATER. SLAM! Snapping his head to the direction of the sound, he found a hot plate of sausages. But they were a little bigger than sausages. A grin spread across his face as he hopped off the bed, dress fluttering behind him, and ran straight to the plate. Grabbing a sausage, he opened the door to find a boy, talking to the guards that were watching his door; roughly his age. At the sound of the door creaking open, he turned his head to Feliciano. The Vargas's amber eyes meeting his sky blue eyes. The young man had blonde hair that reflected light. It was down, slightly hanging over his brows.

"Who are you?" he looked down at his plate and then back to him. "Why?"

Of course unaware of what the Italian was saying to him, he started to walk off embarrassed. "Ah!" trying to find the right words for thank you in German.

"Bitte!"

There was a moment of silence. The guards and the boy looked at Feliciano with a odd look.

The blonde looked at him with confusion, but started to hold in a chuckle. Maybe he knew what he meant. But why was he laughing? Did say the wrong thing? He guessed he'd never know. After being forced into the room again he felt his stomach grumble again.

"Food!" he reached down and grabbed one to put in his mouth.

"This is terrible..." he sighed in discontent, "ve~"

Behind the door stood the shy blonde listening for any response of 'her' liking his favorite meal; wurst. "Questo è terribile..." Even though he didn't know what 'she' said, it sound like 'she' liked it! The German boy smiled and walked off with his guard and maid.

"_Frau_ Zelma, do you think she liked it?"

"I am sure she loved it Master Ludwig! " the young lady smiled at him and they continued to walk, exiting out of the servant quarters. "But why exactly are you stepping out of your way to give her that?"

"She has been through a-"

"But still, Master Ludwig. You have a kind heart but you shouldn't mess with her… she isn't of German bloo-"

"Don't finish that statement! Why can't people see that we are equal beings! I am not judging her for what bloodline she came from!" he sighed and stopped walking looking forward with a daze. "She walked with pride and was happy even though the whole staff was being disgraceful to her. She is what we need for a greater Germany!" he smiled recalling that memory of the brothers, walking hand in hand in the hall pasting all the people who laughed, cursed, and glared at them.

Miss. Zelma wrinkled her nose, stopping the two before they reached the top of the scarlet steps that lead to a good amount of conversational people. Putting her hands on her hips, she frowned. "Why were you in the servant quarters?"

"I was looking for you, remember?" he said shyly. That's true, how could she forget that the young boy went out looking for her to help find his practice gun for school.

"But Master Ludwig those were the-" she had to stop herself. Lord _Roderich Edelstein III_ told all of the staff that the children that live in the estate, who were not of age, should not know of the political happenings. Not even of Vargas's grandchildren. They must focus on more important things, like mathematics and combat.

"They were what?" Ludwig asked, arms crossed.

She let out a sigh and continued to walk with the german boy, "nothing dear! It's just I think she will cause you trouble later on." Zelma smoothed out her curly, shoulder length, light brown hair that hung shamelessly over her onyx eyes. She slid her hair back into her bandanna cap and curtseyed to the passing officials.

With a bashful grin, Ludwig began talking once more, "good! Now what language was she speaking again? Was it Italian?"

"Yes, Master Ludwig."

"Fantastic! I shall learn it! I believe _bruder_ Gilbert was learning it for his next mission in Italy! Perhaps I should ask him..." Ludwig thought out loud. Gilbert might be busy since he was recently assigned to a hit list.

"Yes, Master Ludwig..."

This would be the perfect way for him to interact with a foreigner! Ludwig has never met one up until now, so it'll be enthralling for him to learn more about the Italian. The ultimate chance for him to learn a different culture was literally at his door step. Grabbing the little courage he had, he asked, "may we set up a date that we can visit her? I think she should try learning our language! It would be beneficial know German to work with the other maids, so if we can..." he looked down to his feet and started to twiddle his fingers.

"Yes Master Lu- what! No! You must focus on your schooling and rankings!" she went on and on. Anything that would protect him. He shouldn't get attach to her; it'll make things harder for the both of them. If only he knew what fate has in store for the both of them...

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed this! I will have to thank my editor!

Frau Wolf!

She is so great! She helped me with the background information~

~My friend did something weird... My friend didn't know that my account was still open, and when she reviewed, my buddy reviewed as Animefreak557 not themselves~ My buddy... (= A =lll)...really? So weird..

~Animefreak~( = 3 =)


	2. Chapter 2

The second chapter of The Hit List is below this HQSC (Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter). But by all means look into it! ( =3 =)

**Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter 1! By my good friend, FrauWolf! It's great to have a little humor before this story don't you think? Enjoy this humorous intercept of the Hit List Chapter 1. **

RECAP in

3….

2…

1….

Let the randomness begin~

Veneziano: My Grandpa's dead and my brother and I got kidnapped by Germans! This is awful.

Rome: Actually I'm surprisingly fine considering I got shot in the chest.

Veneziano: But Grandpa how is that possible?

Rome: …

Veneziano: …

Rome: You need to find that inheritance I left you, because I was super paranoid and hid it in the middle of nowhere. You'll need these plot-device rings, so keep them safe. *Dies*

Veneziano: Grandpa no… Ve~

Romano: We didn't need him anyway.

*Later*

Citizens: OMG THESE CHILDREN SUCK LET'S BEAT THEM WITH STONES

Romano and Veneziano: Omg this sucks ow.

Veneziano: Being hit with rocks is tiring, I'm just going to take a nap in the street

Romano: Fratello, we are going to show these German's up even if I have to carry you

Veneziano: Ve~ getting carried sounds good. *Gets on brother's back*

Romano: GOD I HATE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE!

*Later*

Romano: I'm in so much pain right now.

Roderich III: I'm going to force you to work for me because I better things to do with my life then do work. Also I want all your Grandpa's money.

Veneziano: We don't really have a choice, do we?

Roderich III: No, now shut up and put on this maid outfit.

Germany: OMG the new maid is so hot I don't know what to do! I'll give her food!

Veneziano: I miss my brother, my grandpa is dead, I look like a girl, and the food here sucks.

AND THUS BEGINS THE STORY OF VENEZIANO'S LIFE.

* * *

_Let's get serious, I do not own Hetalia._

_The Hitlist Chapter 2_

_Sleep_. That was what Feliciano needed. It had been the twelfth night that he had suffered from the same nightmare. It had been no ordinary nightmare: it was his memory of the past few weeks, being played over and over again, tormenting him as he slept. He did his best to not mention anything about it, since no one would understand him even if he did say something about it. So he would normally stay quiet and copy whatever the other maids were doing. But that only worked out for little while. He tended to get in their way when he tried to help. Eventually, it reached the point that they would just throw the broom to him, signing to where to sweep, while they did their own work.

After a while, the work became easier for Feliciano. He learned all the places in the estate that were off-limits to him (after _Frau _Zelma gave him a few slaps on the wrist), and he knew all the people he had to curtsy or make way for when they pass: everyone. Feliciano wondered if everyone knew that he was the grandchild of Roma Vargas. Most people of high status would pass him and give him a quick glance before looking forward again. Even this made him smile. At least they are nice enough to leave him alone, unlike the guards that followed him everywhere.

Feliciano finally finished the job for the morning. He let out a sigh of exhaustion and he starting walking towards his room again. Today the estate was very crowded, with far more people visiting than usual. They were dressed in the colors of the German flag: red, black, and gold. Most were dressed in their most formal attire. Feliciano thought of how it used to be at home, about how directly it contrasted with what he was seeing there. Of course there were a lot of people, but they didn't carry the liveliness that the officials in Italy had. They were passionate for a change there, and they knew what they were fighting for! As for here, they seem to be very well mannered and had a debonairly personality. When he made his way up the stairs he heard someone call out, "_Italien_!"

The young boy turned around to face the same blonde child from the first day and a few other new faces. Feliciano curtseyed and stood there to await their command. The blonde blushed and backed away, but was pushed forward once more to the maid. Clearing his voice, he said in uneasy Italian, "Hello, my name is Ludwig. It is nice to meet you. What is your name?" He stuck out his shaky hand out, waiting to Feliciano to take it.

The Italian boy stared at him in shock. He took the time to learn his language to say hello to him. Ludwig was the first person to ever try to learn his name… The maids would call him all kinds of things, even though he repeated his name to them multiple times, breaking down each syllable. The maids would just go back to calling him names in German and giggle amongst themselves. Feliciano smiled and leaned down to kiss the quivering flabbergasted boy. In the background Ludwig's two companions gasped and started smiling like two goofs. Breaking loose, Feliciano grabbed Ludwig's hand and started shaking his jellied hand.

"Ve~My name is Feliciano!"

"Strange name. It almost sounds like a name for a male in a way...", Ludwig thought. The Italian's eyes shined with acceptance and he soon let a gentle smile flow on his face. Snapping out of it, Ludwig made an attempt to repeated Feliciano breaking down the syllables , "Ve? Fe-li-ci-ano-" Shaking his head Feliciano repeated his name, but without the Ve~. "Feliciano." Ludwig furrowed his brows and and repeated the italian's accent and name, "Feliciano?"

"Ve~ great! Ludwig!" The German boy smiled and tried to say another conversational greeting to him before he was rudely interrupted by his maid, Miss Zelma. She pushed the boys up the stairs and passed the little 'girl' with a "hmp".

Feliciano continued up the velvet steps after a few minutes to make sure that he wouldn't come across that maid again. Did she hate him for doing something? Whatever it was, it must've been horrid for her to treat him like that. He was finally at his door. He reached in his apron pocket on his dress and grabbed the key for the door. Walking in he found a note that was more than likely slid under the door. Feliciano locked the door again to make sure no one was watching. He picked up the plain white note from the ground to observe it.

Opening it he found a letter that simply had his name written on the front ,in very neat printed handwriting …

"Feliciano"

The Italian was very confused, so he opened the envelope at little more. There were flat rose petals in its pocket… _Did he try to give me a rose?_ He looked at the small crack between the door and the floor, and smiled. Of course it wouldn't fit Luddy! Giggling at the thought of Ludwig trying to stuff a rose into the crack made his day. He looked at the petals and felt his eyes get slightly water. He has made his first friend in Germ- wait no! The red petals fell down from his palms as the painful memories came flooding in once more. Crimson blood that was smeared on the van, just like his and his brother's shirt when they were trying to stop the bleeding of Grandpa's chest. Their burning throats and eyes after exposure to the tear gas that was released throughout the vineyards during their escape. The corpses, festering and rotting, that rode in the same vans as them for six days straight- God! That memory crushed his chances of having any peace of mind for quite a long time.

He was crying now, unable to choose sides. Feliciano doesn't know whether or not will it be wrong to befriend a German that was loyal to their dictator; the leader that killed off his friends and families. But… why would Ludwig have to be brought into this madness? Feliciano smiled sadly and wiped his eyes. Ludwig was just like Feliciano… He hadn't done anything to hurt anyone else. So, why should he blame him? Feliciano sat on his bed and realized that he was understanding the true meaning of peace and neutrality. He really wanted it for his brother, for his deceased family, and for Ludwig. His finger ran across the ring on his hand remembering the promise that he and Lovino made on the day that they were separated.

"Grandpa, please watch over Lovino and I… because," he looked out the window and felt his face light up, "we will avenge you and fulfill your desire. We are getting closer to our goal".

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Feliciano was taken out of his thoughts and looked up from his ring to face the door. Jumping off of his bed, he quickly made his way to the door. He turned the knob to find Ludwig standing there with his hands behind his back with his slightly irritated maid. Nervously, Feliciano glanced to a nearby standing guard waiting for his approval to step out of the room, as always. With a grunt and a small nod from the guard, Feliciano came out to face his visitors.

The _Italian _smiled at Ludwig before giving him a bow, "Ludwig!" He wants to communicate more with the blonde but his German was very limited at this time. Trying to figure out something to say, the boy was interrupted in mid thought, with a 'bling' from the little technical device that was in Ludwig's hand. This caught his attention. He stepped forward to see what his new friend was doing, but was stopped by the click of one of the guard's gun. More than likely it was a warning for, "stay away", or "know your boundaries". Stepping back, he continued to watch Ludwig tap on the touchable screen with the slyness of a fox.

Once he was done, the same 'bling' came from the touch screen repeated for about five times before stopping completely. The guards allowed Ludwig to give Feliciano the object, which surprised all of them. It seems like they were also interested in what it was. Looking at the object, Feliciano gasped with awe. This was the popular touch screen that everyone was talking about at school a month ago! He rubbed the black fabric cover and then the screen. Amazing! Ludwig then took it away from him to show him the other uses of the tablet. He went on an app that had the picture of a globe, and typed a german sentence in a narrow white box, before pressing the green arrow key.

An hourglass appeared on the screen then it disappeared replacing it with a phrase in his language, and a robotic sounding noise that said, "keep this to communicate with people in the estate". Feliciano's amber eyes suddenly sparked with joy! With a bob of the head from Ludwig, he gave the device to Feliciano. "Ve~!" Feliciano chanted with joy. Now it will be easier for him to communicate with people throughout Germany! Copying the steps that Ludwig did, he gave it back to him at the exact time the computer said, " Thank you so much Ludwig!" in the german language.

Feliciano waited for a response from the german. There was a long pause from the taller boy. Perhaps he had done it wrong, or maybe the computer was acting up. It seemed pretty fine to him. It sounded like the language but-

BLING.

"You're welcome!"

Feliciano looked back down to the tablet to find it already translated into Italian. He guessed it worked judging on the smile on his face. For a couple of hours they sat in the hallway typing and passing audioed notes. It was rather fun for the most part. It was the first time during his stay that he was able to talk to someone in his language. After the clock struck three o'clock in the afternoon Ludwig's maid ,_Frau_ Zelma, couldn't wait any longer. She was force to stand quietly beside the guards while she waited for Master Ludwig to finish his visit with Feliciano. With a sigh of victory, she quickly yanked the tablet out of Ludwig's hand and placed it into Feliciano's lap.

With a few snaps to the blonde, the maid dragged him out the servant quarters complain and bickering in their native language. Ludwig waved off and said his biddings before disappearing behind the corner of the hall. "Ciao!"

Feliciano walked back inside of his room and looked at the last sentence that Ludwig was going to submit. Clicking the green arrow, the hour glass appeared ,and like always it was replaced with the translated sentence of their language. The computer began to read it out loud, " Do you want to work for me? I am sure Miss Zelma wouldn't-". He looked at the text and replayed the audio clip over and over again. Is this real? The work load would be so much easier for him! No longer would he have to be bossed around by the older maids, and no longer would he be abandoned! He clapped his hands once then let out a soft, "Ve~". Ludwig was the best!

The rest of the evening was peaceful for him. He already completed all his work for today, so he didn't have to worry about those bullies. He prefer to stay in his room and look outside his window to scheme of the things that he would have to accomplish. One for a fact, he has to find Lovino and go back to Italy. Secondly, he needs to find all of the kids that he use to play with in the Vargas estate: the ambassador's grandchildren: Kiku Honda, the grandson of the ambassador of Japan; Arthur Kirkland, the grandson of the ambassador of The United Kingdom of Great Britain; Matthew Williams, the grandson of the ambassador of Canada.

All this thinking was making his head spin… Deciding that it would be a grand idea to take a nap, he laid his bruised body under the covers, and closed his eyes.

Gentle taps on the door sented shivers of anxiousness when Feliciano heard this, covers over his head. He looked at the tablet that was sitting peacefully on the small desk top, then looked outside. "10:32 p.m," he mouthed as he slowly got out of the bed. His eyes widen, surprised that he slept that long. But it was his first time in a while sleeping peacefully, without having that repeated nightmare. It's sort of late, although he did stay up later than this in Italy. Should he answer it? Rubbing his eyes, he got out of the bed and grabbed the knob. Behind the door revealed Ludwig, his only friend in the world besides his brother. A smile was painted smugly on the Italian's face, but was soon replaced with a frown.

How did he get there? The servant quarters are blocked off after nine, so how did he get in? Feliciano gazed at the unconscious guards throughout the hallway dumbfoundedly. "Wha-" before he could say anything Ludwig quickly grabbed his hand and took them back into Feliciano's room, quietly shutting the door.

"Why did you come here Ludwig?" Of course the German boy had no idea what he was saying but he had a clue, judging on Feliciano's reaction. He pulled two wireless objects out of his pocket and placed one of the headband-like accessory on his head. Doing the same for the shocked Italian, he pressed it's side button to activate it.

"Can you understand me?"

Feliciano looked up in amazement. Ludwig knows his language? Now they can both talk to each other quicker without passing the tablet around like a hot potato.

"Yeah!" feeling the headband he started to rejoice with radiance, " I-I do!" Feliciano felt so excited! It was like Christmas all over again! To make sure that this was real, he decided to pull off a tongue-twister for his dear friend Ludwig, "Can you understand this? She sells shee shells she shee-" blushing Feliciano waved his hands in defence realizing that he wasn't good at tongue twisters.

With a nod from Ludwig he corrected 'her'. "Do you mean 'she sells sea shells by the sea shore'?" Feliciano's eyes sparkled with delight. He reached out for his friend and gave him an electrified hug, "Ve~! Thank you, thank you!"

Very shyly Ludwig pushed Feliciano off of him. He turned his head to hide his deep blush. He gained the courage to speak up to Feliciano saying, " Y-your welcome " Breaking up his hug from Ludwig, Feliciano asked him, "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?" Bright amber orbs met his deep sky blue. Noticing how very little space that was between them, he cleared his throat and took a few steps back. Scratching the back of his head he begins, "Um... tomorrow is a very special day for me…"

"What is it?"

Grabbing both of Feliciano's hands he explained thrilly, "I have been working hard for years for my dream job and-"

"How old are you?" Italy stared at him with question. He can't be that old, right? Is it normal for kids to get a life long job? He made a mental note in his head, "make sure that all children have a clear conscious of what they will be to contribute the Italian government".

"I'm fourteen" Ludwig answered, "the appropriate age of serving the Empire of the Greater German People," he finished, crossing his arms in a prideful manner.

"Wow! You're so cool! But what is the job?" Feliciano sat on his bed, playing with the hems of his dress.

Ludwig sat on the floor as if he was bracing himself for the news. "I am an inductee for becoming a hitman! The youngest in history to be chosen for such an event! That means I might be able to work with my older brother Gilbert when he gets home from Italy!" Feliciano clapped his hands in delight. Even though he has no idea what he was talking about he had to feel happy for his friend, but he stopped in mid clap remembering the guards outside.

"Ludwig, what exactly did you do to the guards?"

"I simply knocked them out with a rag covered in chloroform..." Ludwig said this simply, as if knocking people out with chloroform was a simply and normal affair.

Feliciano forced out a smile and choked out, "That seems like that might be dangerous, you know that… right?" Ludwig nodded. Seeing that this started to freak Feliciano out, Ludwig said, "Don't worry, the hitmen are trained to knockout marks without killing them, so they'll _most likely_ be fine."

That still didn't help, so Ludwig decided to change the subject. "Well, the main reason why I came here was to see if the rumor was true." Feliciano continued to listen to Ludwig's statement, rocking his legs back and forth on the bed, in the pale moonlight. A blush came across his cheeks when he carried on, "Every hitman inductee that became a hitman, had the blessing of the person that they liked… my brother did it too, but his lover went back to Hungary awhile ago." He looked down at his shoes and then back to Feliciano's eyes, "And so I was wondering could I get that blessing from you?"

Feliciano got on the floor along side with him and asked, "Why do you want my blessing when we only met two weeks ago? Plus there a lot more prettier girls b-"

Before Feliciano knew it, he was already in the arms of his german friend. Ludwig deepen the hug and said with a stutter, " W-well, you're pretty Feliciano. Don't put yourself down like that…" Feliciano broke away and said, "Ve~ this is the first time that anyone told me this!" People at home normally called boys "handsome", but Feliciano assumed that the translator just had an odd choice of words.

"Luddy, I'm going to give you my blessing! Good luck with accomplishing whatever is needed to get your dream job!"

For the next hour they talked, and the more they talked the more fascinated they were with each other. Funny, sad, and serious stories. They shared them all, but Feliciano made sure not to say anything about his family being murdered by his people; he was afraid that Ludwig would view him differently after he mentioned something about it. of Ludwig later said his biddings, pulled out a black mask, and scurried out the quarters, leaving Feliciano in a even happier mood. He once again closed his eyes and made his way under the covers.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Feliciano jolted up from his bed holding his stomach in pain for the sudden movement. Trying to get up he swung his legs off the bed lazily and made his way to the door. "Um, hello?" he peaked his head out the door to see the same group of guards that escorted him and his brother to hall that they were later split apart at. In the back Lord _Roderich Edelstein III _stood there meekly as he made his way to the front of the group.

"Hello, Feliciano! I'm glad that you are doing fine in your-" he stopped to look into her narrow room, "_lovely_ headquarters." Feliciano gave him a look of doubt and worry. He doesn't know whether or not he should trust him or despise him. Maybe it was both…

Stuttering, the boy glance at them behind the door. He built up his courage to ask, "Why are you here-" he began, eyeing him with a hint of terror. His face then harden when he tried to force out his name, "-_Lord Edelstein?" _ The way he said his name made it sound like he was spitting poison, but the man merely ignored it, for he was very used to threats much worse than this. He wiped his glasses and slid his hair back to get the very few strands of hair that were over his eyes.

"Besides me, you are our guest of honor for tonight's banquet!" he turned around to face the couple of maids that held a series of designer clothing. He said a few things in German to the middle aged ladies and they bowed in response charging into the room. The headband that Ludwig gave to him earlier wasn't on his head. Instead it laid on his bedsheets. What were they doing? Reaching out for the tablet to do just that he was stopped by the two ladies undressing him.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" they continued striping him bare until he was in his undergarments, throwing everything he wore in a nearby hamper. Before they began dressing him again, they gasped at all of the dark marks that were on his chest and stomach. Feliciano felt his hands cover his body as he made the biggest attempt to hide himself from the women. It was like they thought he was a girl! They bit their lips and patted him on the shoulder after taking everything in. Seeing those bruises, they began to dress him like they were dressing a baby. One of the maids pulled an undershirt over his head and help the boy put on his black stockings, which was quite difficult for him to accomplish since this his first time putting them on. Afterwards they buttoned up his white cotton dress for him after many failures by him, of putting the right button in the hole. He was seriously starting to think that everyone thought that he is a 'she'. But maybe it is for the best… he'd rather work inside the house with maids than do manual labor with the men, so perhaps Grandpa was right. He and Lovino might be okay…

Finally, the rather itchy outfit was complete- consisting of a white dress, white shoes, and a brown ribbon in his hair. It was simple. Feliciano hate to admitted it, but he was getting use to the female clothing the the compound was providing them. He didn't feel that embarrassed like how he would normally feel on an everyday basis. Following the maids out the room, he saw that the guards were waiting side by side in their uniformed places. They began to walk out the servant quarters and into the very packed hall. The lights were bleam and classical music placed in the background. Foods of all kind was being served by servants to conversating people. Putting his hand on the golden bar of the staircase, the maids guided Feliciano down the steps when suddenly an announcer shouted something that made everything stop. Feliciano mouthed the phrase again to realize that his name was mentioned.

Looking down the steps he expected the audience to start throwing their champagne glasses and bottles at him. But that never happen… maybe one of them is going to start shouting threats and death threats to him? But even that never happened. He stopped in his tracks to only be met with a maid gentle pushing me forward. His legs felt like jelly, and his breathing was shaky. Something isn't right. It didn't feel right. Before reaching the bottom, a maid slowly gave him a white mask. Turning towards her to face her, Feliciano noticed that the maid's eyes showed a small spark of discomfort.

At the bottom of the steps, he was met with a dozen different children at the bottom. Each one wearing a black mask, and grey/white clothing similar to what he has on, but less dressy. Up on the deck stood Lord _Edelstein_, adjusting his detachable mic on his uniform, and giving it minor small taps.

He stood there with a genial smile as he continued to speak. The dictator seems very happy today.

Today was it. Ludwig has been working for this for half of his life and he was going to become a hitman as of today. He is now going to be able to take down those who would destroy the natural cause of creating a better Germany! So here he is, standing hand in hand with his older colleges, making history just standing here. If he passes the test then he would be the youngest hitman in history. Smiling at the thought of it the announcer then interrupted his thoughts.

"The hit list for today's enrollment test for hitmen inductees. Treason for being part of a family uproar against The Empire of the Greater German People! Three million dollars in trust funds lost and stolen by the Vargas family. Punishment: labeled as a hit lister!"

Ludwig sneered. Such a low life! How can one person do this much damage to the Greater Germany? Glancing up in the corners of his eye to see the tyrant buffoon, he was nudged by one of his older comrades.

"Fe-" at the exact moment, both men talked making it harder for him to hear the name quite clearly.

"Ludwig, do you think it'll be unyielding out there?"

Darn it! He didn't hear the name! Nudging his classmate back, he asks him, "did you hear the name?" His collaborator shook his head, and explain that he wasn't really paying attention to it. The blonde shrugged it off, but quickly turned his head to the direction of the light taps that was placed on a microphone. All he has to do it shoot down the person dressed in white. Realizing that it is their fellow Dictator, he listened carefully to the upcoming news.

"Greetings everyone! Today is the celebration of victory. We have finally captured the heir of the Vargas estate, but we are not done yet. In gratitude, we are going to let our future hitmen kill this scoundrel and forever bring down the Vargas clan!" with a cheer and applaused from the audience and inductees they began the ceremony. They forcefully pushed the hit lister out the main battle ground. After a full ten minute head start, it was our goal to find the listee and kill him. Whoever brings the body to the head guard first will be granted the title "hitman".

With their guns loaded, they were finally released and the spectators cheered.

He was the fastest out of all of them. Passing, sliding, and hiding, he found the perfect place to see everything that the battle grounds had. It looked like a normal town, but it was understanding why they done here. Most hit listers were tracked down in towns. He ducked down and planted himself in the mud and grass to camouflage. Unlike his competitors, he uses his head. Compared to the others, he wasn't strong or tall, but he was one hell of a sniper.

Everybody was looking at the most reasonable places: Abandoned houses, closets, or maybe even the forest. But that was too predictable. Gazing at the whole 'fake' city, he found a building that one or two bells on the rooftop like a Catholic church. Perhaps he's religious, praying to his God? Walking to the other side of the hill to get a good glimpse of what was inside of the building he swatt down and aimed his gun mercilessly at the windows.

Suddenly white appeared in one of the seats ducking, or what seems like crying. Smirking he closed one eye and looked into the tiny magnifying glass that pointed straight to his head. His finger brushed the trigger, before pulling it.

Click.

He expected to hear a thunderous roar as the shot was fired, but instead it was replaced with a light 'click'. Once again he smirked. No wonder nothing was heard of… they took away all of the ammunition, forcing him to literally kill his target in person. He has no choice but to go to the church and kill the victim himself.

Feliciano was on his knees praying to God, hoping that he can get out of this situation somehow. What has he done to get this treatment? But whatever he did, forgive him... the dictator lied once again, or maybe he didn't ask enough questions. Lovino, where are you? Please be safe...

"God, please help us… give me strength..."

Everything was quiet… nobody has tried to shoot him yet. He's exhausted from all that running he had to do to stay away from the crowd that was chasing him. Coughing, he winced at the pain in his stomach again that day from all that running. But he can't give up now. Gripping the ring that Grandpa Roma gave him, he sighed. "Sorry Grandpa, but I am not planning on seeing you now…"

At that moment, the 'click clacks' of shoes was faint but noticeable. It became louder and louder each passing moment.

He was so close to becoming a hitman that he can taste it, but there was one thing that he couldn't stop thinking of. Who was behind that mask? His teacher, bruder, and Frau Zelma warned him that curiosity kills. But just one peek wouldn't hurt after he was done. Stepping into the church he took in his surroundings. The paint on the wall was clearly old, it was peeling; the stone statue of Mary and baby Jesus that was in the front of the church podium; the white rim of a dress. It was more than likely the hit lister is a girl, but a hitman's job was to kill whomever they were told to kill, and to not hesitate for any reason.

She was bent down, turning the opposite direction of where he was standing. He guess that she knew he was there already, so grabbing his gun he angled it in a position for easy kill. Before he could do that the girl turned and kicked him on his knee, buying her enough time to roll under the seats, and away from him. Cursing to himself, he stepped on her dress which stopped her.

He had to know. His curiosity got the best of him… quickly, but gracefully, he unmasked her to reveal the same amber eyes that make his heart pound; the same auburn hair the seems to glow into the sunlight; the same chubby face of his dear Feliciano. But this time, 'her' face was drowned in pure horror. Her eyes were red and puffy from the crying, and her face was flushed.

"F-Feliciano? Why are you here?" he choked out, taking off his black mask to reveal himself to her. Rule one broken: Never reveal yourself to the hit lister.

Her eyes showed the little shine it normally had, as she got up to hug him tightly. "_Non so cosa sta succedendo! Pensavo che fossi uno di loro!_" She shook in terror before stepping back once more, glaring at the gun that he had. Ludwig realized that the gun was scaring her so he placed it away from the two. He leaned down to embrace her, wrapping his tone arms around her slender ones. The heat traveled to his face when he did this, so he turned the other direction hoping that she wouldn't be able to see him like this; vulnerable. But this was his chance! He could kill her now and get it over with. Pulling a small blade from his sleeve he aimed it at her neck behind her. One quick slice would make him become a hitman, working for the country that he loves. He looked down once more, Feliciano was clearly holding back her tears when she sniffled ,"_Salvami _Ludwig-".

Even though he had no idea of what she was saying, he had a clue. She was scared and shaking in his arms. He couldn't kill her… Ludwig grew too attached to her to even think once about doing so. Feliciano continued to cry in his arms, as the lingering thoughts of Ludwig remained locked up in his mind… what now? He just committed treason all for this one girl. Rule two broken: don't help the hit lister.

Their comfort session was over with the sound of yells and footsteps. "Where are you?"

One of his competitors marched inside of the church, armed with a few hand knifes and an unloaded gun like Ludwig. "Why are you just standing there? You had the chance to kill her, so back off!"

Ludwig stepped in front of Feliciano and made sure that 'she' was well blocked from any harm. He pointed his knife towards the women and charged at her. Feliciano stared in shock hand over her mouth and eyes wide for seeing the sight of blood once more… the knife slid into the woman's neck and Ludwig mumbled to himself, "Rule three broken: never turn against your comrades in a friendly competition, such as this one…" A dark smile spread over Ludwig's face. "Damn, I broke all the rules..."

Ludwig had committed treason, but he might still have a chance to survive if a miracle happened. But how is he going to escape when it is heavily guarded with guards and soldiers to monitor the place?

Meanwhile, the audience stared in horror as the camera kept rolling the live scene of Ludwig's treason. Rolling a cup full of wine Roderich smirked, bring the cup to his lips…

"Things just got interesting..."

* * *

DONE! Ve~! (=ヮ=)

Thank you! Frau Wolf and Imaolevi my Editors!

Our finals are over, and this is a time of celebration! Please give me your opinion about the story so far. I would gladly appreciate it. (=3=)

Thank you for being so patient.

Your author,

~Animefreak~(=w=)


	3. Chapter 3

The third chapter of The Hit List is below this HQSC (Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter). But by all means look into it! ( =3 =)

**Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter 2! By my good friend, FrauWolf! It's great to have a little humor before this story don't you think? Enjoy this humorous intercept of the Hit List Chapter 2. **

RECAP in

3…

2…

1…

Let the randomness begin~

Italy: I'm so traumatized from the last chapter

Germany: That new maid girl is super-hot though

Italy: Ve~

Germany: Wanna be friends?

Italy: Sure, you're the only person here who isn't kind of a massive douche

Germany: When I grow up I want to murder people

Italy: Um, okay that's cool I guess…

Germany: Okay see you later

Roderich III: Okay, we're having a party so these maids are going to put you in dresses against your will. Have fun with that.

Italy: I've been so violated…

Germany: I'm going murder someone and pursue my dream job, yeah!

Italy: Ahhhhhhhh~!

Germany: What, my waifu!? No, now I have to murder everyone else!

Austria: This is better than cable

_Let's get serious, I do not own Hetalia._

_The Hitlist Chapter 3_

_Content warning: There will be gory and disturbing imagery in this chapter._

The woman gasped and staggered backwards, Ludwig's blade darting across her throat and leaving a thin cut. The woman, shocked by the child's speed, dropped her own weapons, and her hands grasped at the wound. Her eyes went wide in horror as blood began trickling through her fingers; she gasped for air and began coughing, trying to say something. In between her panicked breaths, she managed to choke out something that almost sounded like, "help."

But her eyes showed something different: a glare far colder, far more accusing. As she stumbled backwards and her gasping became more ragged, the woman glared at Ludwig in way that seemed to say what she could no longer articulate in words, begging the question, "_Why did you do this? It wasn't supposed to go like this, but you __**betrayed**__ us! You traitor, you monster, why?" _

Ludwig had failed to kill her as cleanly as he had wished, and watched the woman stagger backwards through the church. Hitmen were trained to kill much more effectively than this, cutting the jugular vein in a way that would ensure that victim would bleed out rapidly, not that it would be instantaneous, nor would would it actually be "clean". Ludwig knew how it should have been done, and he realized that the woman had known how to do it too; they had gone through the exact same training, they were supposed to be comrades.

Ludwig was glad he hadn't ever learned the woman's name during training as he plunged his knife once more into her neck; this wound would bring her death much more swiftly. This seemed to be of little comfort to the woman, her hands moving to Ludwig's blade in a feeble and ultimately vain attempt to pull the weapon from her neck. Her hands met Ludwig's, and in shock he dropped the blade, the blood on the woman's hands staining his own. She fell to the ground, clutching the gaping wound as she shook in the throes of death on the sanctuary's floor. Blood, colored like a dark wine, spilled onto the floor; droplets splattering against Ludwig as he grabbed his knife from the woman's side as her convulsions ceased and she was left staring, wide eyes filled with horror and tears, blankly at the ceiling.

Feliciano shivered. Was this really Ludwig? Was this the same innocence person whom he had befriended in a short time ago? His stomach curled with knots and he covered his mouth with his hand to block the gasp that would eventually escape his lips.

Ludwig turned around to reach out his hand to the Italian. He looked like the same Ludwig that he had befriended. Same clear blue eyes, slightly messy blonde hair, and the shy-yet-stern look that fell naturally on his face. His hair and clothes was covered with dried grass and mud, but his face was clean because of his dark mask that once covered his face. He didn't know what to do yet he still reacted without thinking. Feliciano grabbed Ludwig's hand and followed him further in the church. The deeper in they walked the darker the halls began to be.

He looked back at Feliciano and signaled him to stay there. Before Feliciano could reach his hand to the rim of his cloak, he disappeared into the morbid darkness. The room had no door but bits of pieces of old glass and picture frames. His hands made its way together and he bend down on his knees. Ludwig committed one of the ultimate sins: murder. Ludwig is a good person; he did it to protect him right? Everything was intolerably quiet. The creaking outside the door and the soft breathing of his own was what filled his ears. He shook and prayed silently. This is the first time he has gotten scared of the dark. But he must remember, people are not scared of the dark, but what is hiding in it. He felt his body relax some, yet he still forced his body to stay up. What was Luddy doing? He had to stay up so that no one would catch him off guard. He can't fall asleep yet; not now. Drifting off to sleep is a way to escape the world, but it is also a way to bring you back to reality... His body ignored his silent pleas while his eyes became heavy. This is the first time today that he was finally able to sleep. He somehow felt safe, in an odd twisted way, that he was with Ludwig. His thoughts overflowed, somehow comforting him , allowing him to go into slumber.

The twist of the door knob grabbed his attention, so he quickly got up and watched the dark visual figure slowly turn into Ludwig. He got up and walked up to Ludwig to see that his hands drenched with warm crimson. In his right hand something was wrapped in the self made cloth bag that was tightly bandaged with care. He glanced over to Feliciano once more and guided him back inside of the newly cleansed sanctuary. Feliciano looked around the room. Everything looked the exact same way when he entered the church; how? But instead of the bright morning sun shining on the abandon pedestals, the room held an orange hue, making the aura relaxing and pleasant. Looking out one of the broken windows he realized that the sun was starting to set. Just how long had he been asleep?

Feliciano brought his attention to the bandaged object, and on cue, Ludwig began talking in his native tongue before stopping when he realized that Feliciano can't quite comprehend what he was saying. The only way for them to communicate was trying to interact with each other physically; just like a game of charades. Ludwig held out his hand out to Feliciano, hoping that 'she' would follow him. Feliciano was about to grab it until he has reached his senses. Ludwig's hand was rebuffed with a quick slap on his right cheek.

This baffled Ludwig. Hadn't he just saved her life, and almost certainly lost his country's trust. Couldn't 'she' realize how much unnecessary _**crap **_he had to deal with? Before he was able to verbally react back to Feliciano's action, he was stopped by a shaky yell.

"You killed in the Lord's house! How could you?" Feliciano stepped away, but was followed by the approaching blonde who was trying to gain 'her' trust again. His back finally met with the hard surface of the wooden wall, letting out a yelp, when Ludwig continued to reach for his unaccepting hand.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig swiftly grabbed 'her' shoulders and he gave 'her' a forceful shake. Feliciano had to realize that he was doing this for 'her'. "If only Feliciano would understand; if only she accepted how things were and trust me," Ludwig thought.

He had never sacrificed so much before: killing a Hitman inductee, betraying the country which he had only ever wanted to serve and protect. All for this one girl; the girl that he had only met just recently, the only one to make his heart flutter with the simplest actions. The one girl that reminded him how it felt like to be a kid again. But for her to despise him, made his insides hurt... Ludwig looked at Feliciano's face that was filled with horror, angst, and sadness. Tears fell dearily when 'she' dared to look up at him with 'her' big honey coated eyes.

His arms made its way around Feliciano's shoulders causing 'her' to flinch. But instead of the harsh shake like before, it was replaced with something different... something special: a hug. Feliciano intensity melted into his arms…

Feliciano didn't know what to do… he did know enough German to carry off a conversation with anyone, yet he felt like he had known him for years. Perhaps it was just a side-effect of being lonely, that he was so willing to become friends with Ludwig that he didn't think about the 'what ifs'. Feliciano gave in, gripped the outer cloth of his dark jacket, and then buried his face deep in chest. He already knew that this friendship would never work, but he wanted to enhance every moment of this feeling. Soft sobs escaped his lips, but he held most of it in so that no one including Ludwig, could hear. They stood like that for awhile, but they seem to not care; they were content…

The moonlight soon began to beam on them as Feliciano slept, propped against the wall leaning on Ludwig. Gentle cricket chirps and the sound of their hearts beating like a drum, was their lullaby. The church doors were locked and jammed shut, so Ludwig didn't worry much about anyone coming in unnoticed. He looked down at his collarbone and felt the heaviness of Feliciano's head there. Sighing, he looked at the ceiling which was painted with bright stars and cross designs that had people with a glowing halo around the surface of their head.

"Is this your God Feli? Can't they see us?" Ludwig forced a smile, "If they can, then why have they cursed us? You're so devoted, but can't you see that no one is there… It's just an imaginary idol"

He took his attention off of the wall art and he then glanced at the bandaged item that was underneath him. Ludwig has the perfect plan of escape for Feliciano, but he has to figure out a way to explain it to 'her' so that even a deaf person could understand.

_CRUNCH_

The blonde's heart skipped a beat when he heard feet walking on the crunchy grass outside the building. The sound echoed throughout the room, signaling him that the inductee was close. He expeditiously got up on his feet and tapped Feliciano repeatedly on his shoulder. Feliciano groggily looked at Ludwig, blinking his eyes multiple times to keep himself awake. He let out a yawn and gave Ludwig a questioned look of concern when Ludwig helped him up from his sleeping position.

"Wha-?" before Feliciano could say anything, Ludwig hushed him and placed a finger over his mouth, silently informing 'her' that 'she' must be quiet. The crunches continued to get louder and louder until it stopped at the door that was blocked off. A few twists of the door knob could be heard on the other side of the room, followed by a sigh of irritation.

Taking his chance, Ludwig grabbed Feliciano's wrist and quickly tip-toed to the back rooms, which led to multiple hallways. Ludwig walked into one of the hallways, making frequent stops on the corners with his knife in hand, ready to attack anyone who stands in their way. By this time of night, it was really dark. When they finally approached the final wooden door, it led to an upstairs attic. The room was very packed with old boxes and linen that was scattered about, leaving them with little to no space to squeeze through the tight spaces. Every step was heard when they moved their feet, causing the atmosphere to be somewhat unnerving. At times, Ludwig even had to pick up some of the boxes whenever they couldn't walk past any of them. They had to stay as far away from the doors and windows as possible so that no one would find them. After a half an hour of moving boxes and squeezing further into the ocean of boxes, they finally made it to the corner of the attic. There was barely enough room for both of them to sit down, but they somehow managed to.

The dark room was very quiet, and the only thing that was heard was the harsh beatings of their hearts. Feliciano and Ludwig held their knees together and sat up straight to avoid any boxes tumbling over. There position started to ache their backs the longer they had to hunch over, but instead of complaints, an eternal silence filled the room; they couldn't risk being heard by a hitman inductee.

Feliciano simply sat down, taking quick glances at the older boy beside him, while rubbing his ring on his right thumb. If he made it out alive he would have to repay him, somehow… Feliciano was unnoticably shaking and trembling, taking short breaths, reacting the opposite way than Ludwig. The blonde's expression was unreadable, but at times he would take quick glances at Feliciano.

There was a huge chance that they won't make it out alive, even if they came up with the perfect escape plan. Twiddling with his ring, Feliciano nudged Ludwig on the side to capture his attention. The blonde looked at Feliciano. His hair was matted down with dirt and his face was covered with beads of sweat. In comparison with him, the hems of his white dress was now painted dusty brown with light nonsymmetrical rips on the side. Feliciano boldly grabbed Ludwig's hand and leaned on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. Ludwig has saved him multiple times and he appreciates it and all, but knowing that he is risking everything for a person that he recently met, was bittersweet. He felt selfish. All he could do was say thank you. Even though "thank you" wouldn't be enough, it was the only thing he could do for the time being...

"_Grazie_, Ludwig"

Ludwig glanced at the top of Feliciano's head that was restfully sitting on his body. Recalling the term _grazie_, he finally remembered that it meant thank you. Ludwig blushed and faced away from Feliciano. The _Italian _made Ludwig's heart flutter when 'she' does the simplest things. It was true. It was true that he unconsciously became fond of 'her', even though he tries but fail to discreetly know his limits and his boundaries as a Hitman. But he can't seem to disown this unfamiliar feeling. It was a sickeningly wonderful feeling that was foreign to him, and it pained him that he had to like Feliciano, a hit man listee. It pains him that he doesn't understand Feliciano's language, so that he could alleviate 'her' sorrows that 'she' had to bare. Feliciano could've never had committed those crimes; it's not like 'her'. It pains him that he shows 'her' care and support, that will eventually kill them both. Yet he still disobey his common sense and leans on the smaller human, tightening his hand around Feliciano's.

"_Es freut mich_, Feliciano"

_Es freut mich_. Feliciano closed his eyes and allowed the phrase to repeat silently in head. Most of the _German _that he has heard throughout his stay at the estate was strong and thick sounding, but his _German _was so soft and delicate the way he said _Es freut mich_. The sentence was passionate, yet reluctant like he was regretting what he was saying to him.

"Feliciano." When Ludwig's warm hand unattached his own, he suddenly felt lonely. Feliciano followed Ludwig's motions as his hands made its way around the back of his neck, unhooking something. Once he loosen up the object he slowly began to pull it up, revealing a cross metallic necklace that was hidden beneath his cloak. Feliciano's eyes glittered with amazement and sat there with stupefaction, but hesitated when he turned to face him.

"_Hier_." He adjust the necklace to rest securely on Feliciano's collar bone. His fingers were trembling slightly, causing his fingers to brush lightly on the tiny hairs on his neck. Feliciano looked down the necklace and then snuck a glance to Ludwig to find him already looking at him. He forced himself to look away, hiding his blush in the shadows. Was Ludwig always this shy? He suppose so… Burying his face in his chest he wrapped his arms around his toned waist and began humming an unfamiliar tune for Ludwig. It sounded weary at first, but after a few momentary seconds the hum gotten lighter and softer. His soprano voice rung in Ludwig's ears as Feliciano started rocking his head to the melody. Feliciano made sure that his voice was low enough so that nobody besides Ludwig could hear the refreshing lullaby.

What they didn't know was that the dictator was watching them, silently judging whether or not he should sent his men to bomb them or capture them and executed them in the town square. The huge audience from this morning recently retired to their quarters, but once everyone returned the next morning, the show would be over. With one lift of this finger he ordered his men to capture the two children by dusk, when all the officials come back from their slumber. He looked back on the screen that was before him and zoomed into Ludwig's face.

"He clearly had the chance to kill the hit lister, but he chose not to. Ludwig has shamed his only family member, Gilbert…" he lit a cigar and breathed in before blowing it out in small rings.

The room was dimmed with barely any light source coming from outside or from lamps, beside from the huge screen that was hanging on the other side of the room. Smoke fogged the large room, but a large window had a small creak for releasing the fumes that collected over time. Carpets painted blood red, papers and books scattered all over the floor, and the German flag hanging proudly above the dictator's enormous desktop ,sent an unpleasant shiver down the visitor's spine.

"Son, I have called you in tonight to give you your first duty for our country. I believe you are trustworthy enough now not to screw up now like you normally do." Roderich III started to somewhat organize his paperwork, but stopped in deep thought.

After taking some consideration of his new decision he looked up to his son, head resting on the back palm of both hands and said, "As Roderich IV, you have finally reached of age that you must stop goofing off so much. You will be assigned to run the execution for these two revolts. That is why you are not allowed to play the piano or write music anymore, as it will be a huge distraction; we don't have time for that-"

"But father! Killing two children isn't the right thing to do! Why must you make our youth do the unfathomable; the unholy things?" Roderich IV slammed both hands on his father's desk and tried to continue but was slapped by his father in the face.. He fell down on the carpet and grunted in frustration, rubbing his bruised cheek.

"You ungrateful, piano loving bastard! This is for a greater Germany! A hundred and fifty years ago, our great leader Hitler tried, but failed to accomplish what we have now! I will not let two runts ruin what we have built!" he took a breather, huffing and puffing because the lack of breath he had left from shouting. He walked around his desk and gripped the collar of his son, yanking him up to his feet, toes occasionally touching the ground. The older man leaned forward to whisper in his son's ear.

"To make you happy, I will spare Ludwig and create a scandalistic story that will put all the blame on the hit lister." His father's voice sounded sickeningly horrid as he chuckled humorously. Pulling him closer, he started to tighten his grip around his collar, pulling him forward, slightly choking him. He could feel his father's untimely breath hit his face, smelling the smoke that he consumed earlier.

"And then when all things are done, I will bring together my most trusted doctors to perform on Ludwig. I shall brainwash him, just like his brother, and he shall become a killing machine…"

Roderich IV eyes widen when he heard this. He took a sideway glance at the screen behind him that showed Ludwig and the hit lister together. If you listen closely you could hear the soft lullaby that escaped the smaller child's lips, that was strictly meant for Ludwig. _Ave Maria_ . He was humming Schubert's _Ave Maria; a german_ hymn. Such an old song... a sigh flowed out of his mouth when his father let go of his white dress shirt, and it given him enough time to catch his breath.

_Pray for us sinners,_

_Now, and at the hour of our death._

Remembering the song's lyrics, he gave the screen a dejected look of sorrow. The child that was humming it seemed like she already knew that she wouldn't make it out alive... He looked up to face his father in the eye, but once eye contact was made, his father looked the other way.

"You may take your leave now." He walked to his desk and sat down scribbling a fews notes, occasionally eyeing his son.

"Y-Yes father."

He rubbed his neck and got off of his knees making his way to the door. Roderich IV has to figure out how to save both of them, he can't bare the thought of staining his hands with their blood…

* * *

Author's note~

Thanks for reading this! My editors, FrauWolf and Lmaolevi, are great! They support me a lot.

I hope you have enjoyed this! FrauWolf made the death scene at the beginning of the chapter~

So thank you!

Thanks for supporting this story!~ Review if you want to!

_**Please read the warning at the bottom from my editors please**_.

Your Author,

~Animefreak~(6w6)

* * *

_**[ED/N - FrauWolf]**_ Hello, this is FrauWolf, I would just like to thank everyone who has been reading this and especially those of you who have reviewing. My friend Animefreak557 does read those reviews and she really appreciates them, in fact she loves to complain to me about the people who PM her but don't review. We really do enjoy writing this story, unfortunately there may be some brief delays in the future regarding the later chapters due to personal engagements that I will refrain from talking about in detail because of privacy, but we should only be delayed for a few weeks if at all before getting back on track. There will be an issue with the editing however, as I do was some event going on for a large part of the week that will keep me from doing the editing, and I will be caught up in this until the beginning of March. Lmaolevi is helping us though, so I would like to her a whole bunch for pointing out the issues, even if her style of editing is much more "direct" and may be considered "meaner" than my own. I would also like to thank Lmaolevi's mother, who is an angry Bavarian and is the one who has been doing the German translations for us, and her translations are far better than what Animefreak557 has been getting off of Bing translate.

In news of the story itself, between chapters four and five there is going to be a rather large timeskip which is when the "main" story is going to take place. This was originally going to be the last chapter before the timeskip, but Animefreak557 ended up moving a good deal of this chapter over to chapter four after Lmaolevi and I noted that this chapter was becoming rather long. Also, if you noticed that the first four paragraphs of this chapter were written differently from the rest, it's because I was the one who wrote those. The original scene had the un-named woman just die immediately, but I realized that having your throat slit would not kill you immediately, just very quickly. When I pointed this out, Animefreak557's power was out and I volunteered to write that segment for her, and she told me to "go all out" on the death scene. After I was done she apparently cried from being traumatized by my writing and Lmaolevi's only comment was "gross." So sorry about that, but Animefreak557 asked me to do all of the death scenes that will be later, and I'm assuming/hoping that there will be a lot, because I'm a horrible and morbid person like that. I'm also going to be doing the summaries at the beginning of each chapter, which are going to be the funniest/least disturbing thing that I'll contribute to this story. I'm also the reason that there are two Roderichs, because I noticed that the original one was so different from the original Austria-tan, and suggested the theory of there being "two Austrias" with the son being the "real" Austria.

_**[ED/N - Lmaolevi]**_ Well, I saw that a certain someone was doing an editors note so I decided to one as well so I felt, uh, included? Anyway, to sum it up, things are happening leading to delays in the chapters that are coming, so this is basically just a warning. (So you guys don't have to be worried about when she doesn't update the story like she usually does.) Supposedly my style of editing others is "mean" but whatever-I'm just that type of person, so, you just deal with it. Anyway, there's that. Just watch for the story to be updated; whenever that shall be. ಥ_ಥ


	4. Chapter 4

The fourth chapter of The Hit List is below this HQSC (Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter). But by all means look into it! ( =3 =)

**Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter 2! By my good friend, FrauWolf! It's great to have a little humor before this story don't you think? Enjoy this humorous intercept of the Hit List Chapter 3. **

RECAP in

3…

2…

1…

Let the randomness begin~

Inductee-chan: OMG I can't believe you betrayed us! Now I must die so messily that you shall be traumatized forever! *_I [FrauWolf] have no regrets writing that death, Animefreak557 told me to go all out_* Blargh!

Germany: Ew, there's blood everywhere. It's like a water gun up in here!

Italy: THOU SHALT NOT KILL *_Pimp-slaps Germany_* YOU NEED TO EMBRACE JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR! _*lmaolevi supports this statement with a passion*_

Germany: I have no God. Quickly, let's hide in the attic before anyone realizes that I just murdered that random chick that nobody will ever name.

Italy: Is it too late for me to friend-zone you? No? Well, then I guess we're going to die. *_Hums Ave Maria_*

Roderich III: This is getting boring, I should probably just kill those two. Because I am Hitler now.

Austria Jr.: OMG IS THAT AVE MARIA I HEAR?! That song is my jam!

Roderich III: Son, please stop being a prissy little girl before I end up slapping you so hard that your glasses fly across the room.

Austria Jr.: VATER I HATE YOU SO MUCH! NOTHING WILL EVER STOP MY LOVE FOR PIANO-KUN! Piano-kun is the only one who understands me…

Roderich III: Son, that is the fifth-most emo thing I've ever heard you say. Please stop playing music, your horrifying lust for that piano is disgusting, and it probably isn't good for you or that piano. Why don't you find another hobby, like plotting world domination and/or the murder of all who oppose you? Those are way more popular with the ladies, or at least that's how I met your mom.

Austria Jr.: MURDER IS WRONG AND BESIDES, IT'S NOT LIKE I EVER WANTED TO FEEL THE EMBRACE OF A WOMAN ANYWAY! See Vater, this is why dinner with us is so awkward!

Roderich III: Son, I think this weird music kink you have has gone to far. I'm sending you to go kill those two kids. Try not to screw up like the last fifteen-times I've sent you on a mission, and be back for dinner!

_Let's get serious, I do not own Hetalia_

_The Hit List Chapter 4_

The cricket's songs were now replaced with bird chirps. Little cracks on the roof shedded streaks of sunlight in the once dim room. Ludwig woke up to find an empty spot next to him. Panic took over his body as he quickly made his way up to find Feliciano. Pushing over the boxes and shouting 'her' name in a whisper, he finally made his way to the door. His sweaty palms gripped the door tightly, making his knuckles turn white.

What happen to Feliciano? Was 'she' okay? Running in the hallway with his knife and wrapped up object in hand, his breathing quickened and his heart was beating so hard that he could feel it in his veins on his throat. He ran down the steps and made a sharp turn when he heard a 'clatter'. Poking his head into the door, he saw Feliciano with a bag of nuts. Feliciano was sitting on a chair trying to crack some open on the small wooden table that was in there, followed by a few wooden chairs. The room was rather small and bare, only having one wooden cross hanging on the wall.

Ludwig's heart slowed down, and he walked in closing the door behind them.

"Feliciano, don't leave without telling me! There are people after you!" this only made Feliciano blink at him a few times before offering him some nuts that he found in the stable room. Rubbing his forehead he sat down in one of the squeaky chairs that on the opposite side where Feliciano was sitting at. Of course 'she' can't understand him. Reaching out to a mixture of nuts his hand accidentally met with Feliciano's. Ludwig looked up and pulled his hand away, offering Feliciano to go first.

He has never realized how much he cared for Feliciano. Watching the preteen, his eyes glazed at 'her' features: big eyes, full cheeks, and 'her' bangs hung down swiftly moving with every nod. The infrequent smiles that was painted on Feliciano lips made his heart melt. His eyes dropped downwards after admiring 'her' facial features; his eyes trailed further down to 'her' olive toned nec-

"Nein!" standing with the quickness, he accidentally knocked over his wooden chair that he was once sitting in. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he continued to slap his face. _Stop thinking about that! Damn it, damn it, damn it!_

"Ludwig?" Feliciano scrutinized and furrowed his brows together. Ludwig concluded his actions and briskly came to his senses. He sat the chair up again and waved his hands in defence to signal 'her' that he was okay.

Feliciano giggled and grabbed a handful to put on his side of the table. He started to claw his way through the nuts, but he miserably failed doing so. He doesn't normally crack nuts without his electronic nutcracker at home in Italy. Glancing up Ludwig noticed that Feliciano wasn't quite so use to cracking nuts by himself.

"Feliciano..." Ludwig got up and grabbed the nuts that were in 'her' hands and began showing 'her' how he normally cracks his nuts. Feliciano starred and followed Ludwig's motions as he placed two nuts side by side in his hands. Squeezing them together, a 'crunch' sound was made, making Feliciano smile. Ludwig began to peel off the shell of the nut, finally reaching the edible food.

Giving the treat to Feliciano, Ludwig felt the edge of his mouth twitch upwards when he saw Feliciano's face bloom with awe. In the exact moment the nut was placed in Feliciano's hand, his stomach grumbled very loudly causing his cheeks to burn a light red. Ludwig snickered turning his head away from Feliciano, but soon cleared his throat and focused back on cracking the nuts for both himself and Feliciano.

Ludwig's eyes trailed on the cracked lines of the wooden table, momentary reaching Feliciano's small hands to 'her' face. 'She' was so focused on cracking the nuts, eyes locked on 'her' breakfast. Feliciano looked up when at him and smiled, releasing 'her' casual "ve~!"

For the first time, Ludwig was actually going to experience the true pain of losing someone, and he knows this. He mostly feared the safety of Feliciano, not himself. But part of him _knew _that he wouldn't make it out alive… knowing that this is their first and last meal with each other he grabbed Feliciano hands, and stared at 'her' eyes in a determined manner. Forgetting his duty and discipline as a Hit man inductee, he was about to say something that would allow him to let go of Feliciano without regret.

Letting the words come out his mouth, he already knew that there will be a slim chance of Feliciano understanding his confession. But he will not regret it, at least he would say it once before they part, perhaps in death. The intruding weight of guilt was all erased as he watched Feliciano expression.

"_Ich liebe dich._"

_Ich liebe dich. _Feliciano didn't know how to respond to that; the way he said it was very overwhelming to him. He swallowed heavily, refraining his eyes away from Ludwig startlingly. The morning sun shined out of the multiple small holes that was in the wall, bathing them in rays of solar light creating a soft glow around their body. Collecting the little courage he had, Feliciano looked at Ludwig who held the same impassioned stare that hasn't wavered once. How can he tell him he can't comprehend what he said? Feliciano opened his mouth to ask him, but was cut off when he heard,

"_Ti amo." _

_Ba-dump, Ba-dump. _Theheart pounding in his chest only increased every second as Ludwig stood up making his way to his side of the table. Th-This was wrong! Ludwig was a male and so was he. But why does he feel vaguely happy that he said that? Gaining control of the situation Feliciano stood up as well to confront the young man. Steeling himself for the worst he back away and silently shook his head. No this is wrong… a man shouldn't have these feelings for another man, yet it feels like a dagger to heart knowing that he might have the same feelings as Ludwig.

Strong arms wrapped around his body comforting him with every embrace. _He doesn't like guys_… Tears built up in the corner of his eyes as he reluctantly brought his hands to Ludwig's back.

_He really doesn't like guys… but he likes Ludwig._

"_T-Ti amo…_"

Ludwig pulled Feliciano into a tighter hug, burying his face into the auburn hair ,closing his eyes in the hopes that time would stop around them. Warmth clouded their thoughts as they broke apart, staring at each other's eyes. Without thinking Ludwig started leaning forward relentlessly before stopping to see whether or not he should continue. It was incomprehensible to understand what made Feliciano lean forward. Closing his eyes Feliciano stood on the tip of his toes to get more height, preparing for a kiss.

Doing the same, Ludwig leaned down to feel the soft breathing of the 'girl' below him, closing in the gap between them. His lips met Feliciano's in a wistful manner, barely brushing against each other's before _softly _and _innocently_, pressing their lips together. The feeling was surreal. A spark of excitement fluttered in his chest when Ludwig held him in arms. He doesn't know what he has done to receive this bittersweet treatment. He already knows that their happiness won't last forever, but he will do everything in his power to embrace every moment. Ludwig suddenly broke the kiss, much to Feliciano's disappointment.

"Lud-?"

"_Hush!_"

What was wrong? Ludwig pulled Feliciano behind him as he peeked in one of the small holes that lead to the outside world. Everything seemed normal: the abandon buildings that reflected light off of it's windows; the concrete streets that had cracks that formulated there years ago; the forest that was far off in the horizon . But something didn't seem right about the forest: the bushes. It would sometimes sway lightly even if there weren't a breeze conveying them. Suddenly small groups of men ,that were hidden amongst the forest, started making their way to the church with spear-like tasers . They marched in a uniformed manner determined to do their task that the dictator assigned them to do.

Instantaneously Ludwig pulled Feliciano away from the wall, holding his weapon at hand. They had to quickly get out of there, but he already knew that they already had them surrounded by now. They made their way out the door, into the narrow hallway, down the steps, and finally making it to the basement door. Ludwig tightened his grip on Feliciano's hand as he guided them into the dusty, webbed up room. That was the place that they waited, waiting for a sign that they would pass by.

Ludwig stopped, and felt his heart drop as his

breathing hitched every so often. How could he forget!? He couldn't move. He turned Feliciano around in the dark room staring directly at the back of his neck. Rubbing the center of 'her' neck, he felt the small bump that he feared was there:_ a tracker for Hit listees_. Feliciano turned back around to face Ludwig again, confused.

Guiding Feliciano's hand to the square bump, the italian boy's eyes widen as panic started flood his mind.

"Lord Roderich IV, we will await your orders"

Roderich took his attention away from the church and back to the tracker that was in his hand. A sharp pain hit him in the chest, remembering what his father said this morning.

_If they don't collaborate, then I'll kill them off. I will allow you to give them three warnings before I order the men to take care of them. If they do collaborate, I will keep my promise..._

He sometimes don't understand his father. Keeping them alive will be harder than he thought.

"I will go in there and talk to the two. Don't proceed until I give you the say so." He pushed his glasses up, raising a hand to the small army to hold them off. He pressed the side button of his earpiece, inspecting and checking that all groups had heard about the plan.

"_Ja, Herr!_" the soldiers said in unison.

Roderich unraveled himself out of the tree limbs and outgrowing roots that dangled his feet. Stepping out of the forest he walked onto the pebbled street that led to many broke down shops and eateries. He followed the GPS device that eventually led him to the double doors of the church. With one swift pull on the handle, it didn't bung. _What in the world? _Walking towards the side of the building, the device started to beep rapidly.

"Sir? Are you alright? We can always break down the doo-"

"No! That won't be necessary. I will look for another opening to enter the building"

Following the tracker, the rapid beeping led to a small side door that was hidden amongst the tall grass. Roderich swatted down on his knees to get better access to the opening, observing it carefully, making sure that it was realistic for him so squeeze through the hole. Lifting the latch he started to open the door, revealing light to the very dark webbed room. Putting a leg through the door, he realized that he might be able to make it in there. Slowing sliding down and into the building his feet finally met on the ground, resulting for him to let out a long audible breath of relief. Once he stepped inside the dusty room, the beeping became uncontrollably loud and quick. A smirk glided on his lips, as the reassurance of losing them came out of mind.

"That means…"

At the exact moment he felt a cold blade hit his adams apple ever so softly, brushing against him, not cutting him at all.

"Explain who you are."

That voice didn't belong to a man, nor a women, but to a teenage boy going through puberty. _It's Ludwig... _Roderich snickered softly, but stopped when he remembered Ludwig killing a hit man inductee not too long ago. He froze up, but kept his composure as he began to introduce him.

"I came here to talk, but first let me introduce myself. I am _Roderich Edelstein IV_; and I mean no harm to you, Ludwig, or the hit listee." He felt the blade inch away from his neck, but Ludwig placed it back close to his neck, when he continued the conversation.

"Let me see you, but if you do anything crazy… I have no choice but to kill you." Ludwig let go of him, ripping the cloth off of his jacket to quickly tie Roderich's hands up. The blonde aimed his knife at Roderich as he nodded cautiously.

"Proceed."

Roderich nodded and signaled his eyes to the uppermost corner of the basement. At first Ludwig didn't budge; the man before him could be tricking him, so Ludwig tightened his grip around the blade and walked towards Roderich. Ludwig's free hand patted the sides of Roderich's jacket and pants, trying to find a weapon of any source. This was Roderich's chance-

"_Listen! Check my back pocket, my gun is in there. In the uppermost corners in this room, there are cameras set up. Shoot them down and I will help you get out of here,"_ he whispered quietly, eyeing Ludwig towards his backside. Stopping, Ludwig took everything into consideration as his fingers met with the metallic weapon.

"And why should I trust you?" Ludwig pulled away from him, placing the gun safely under his cloak.

Looking up to focus on Ludwig, Roderich's dark navy blue eyes held a very intensive spark that showed the seriousness that he was keeping inside. _"Do you want to keep her alive? If you do than quickly shoot down those cameras. I will help her escape this place alive"._

_Alive… _Feliciano would escape this dreaded place alive. Ludwig glanced behind him to look at the frail being behind him that was hidden amongst the abandoned shelves and curtains. He already knows that they were going to die even if he comes up with the best idea in the world. His brows furrowed together, thinking long and hard. This might be the only chance of survival for Feliciano…

Ludwig made his way to Roderich to untie the knotted cloth. Turning Roderich around, he started untying the knot, "Stand up and show me where they are located." He stepped away and awaited for further instructions while secretly guarding Feliciano.

Roderich began to stand up, using the boxes around him to balance himself up. Rubbing his slightly bruised wrists he began to explain the plan to him in a whisper. "After the first gun shot, we have about one minute before they start to attack. By the time they arrive here all of the cameras would be shot down, mak-"

"Making sure that the dictator won't see us… When they come here, what's next?"

"In the midst of chaos when they attack, surrender. Not all of the soldiers are mine, but I have enough of them to guide you to the right place. Afterwards we are going to drug the hitman listee, to fake her death…"

"Fake her... death?" Ludwig's world began to slow down as he recalled the words, _'fake her death'._ He looked up to face the older man, "why should I trust you? Why do you want to help us? If you trick me, I am going to blow your brains out without regret…"

Roderich paused and gave a smile of sorrow to the boy in front of him. "I can't stand killing children who haven't lived life yet. I'm trying to give you a chance of life and purpose to live… the dose will weaken her pulse, so that she could be claimed _**dead**_. Are you ready?"

Was Ludwig ready? Even if Roderich was saying the truth, it would still endanger all of them. But it was worth the risk if it meant Feliciano getting out of this place. "I'm ready… on the count of three…". Roderich gave Ludwig a small bob of the head as he led the count for Ludwig.

"_Drei_…" Ludwig's hand reached for the gun.

"_Zwei_…" Beads of sweat rolled down his chin, as Ludwig took a deep breath to calm down. Realizing that doing that wasn't working he started humming a familiar tune that eased his heart.

_**Feliciano's hum of Ave Maria.**_

"_Eins_…"

The nerves were gone. Ludwig swiftly pulled the gun out of his jacket and aimed at the first camera that was well hidden between the book shelves.

"_Null!_"

BANG!

Smoke clouded the corner where the camera use to be at. He felt a wave of empowerment when his finger grazed upon the trigger; the feeling was like no other.

**BANG**!

_**BANG**_!

His heart rapidly began to pound to the rhyme of his continuous shots until it was over with the final shot...

_**BANG!**_

Until the cameras were no more. Turning around, Ludwig ran towards Feliciano who was squatting down, hiding behind boxes. Grabbing Feliciano's shoulders to help 'her' up, Ludwig smiled. But his smile gradually became a look of fear, something that Feliciano has never witnessed from Ludwig, when he faced Roderich.

"Promise me you'll keep her alive, and get the tracker out of her!"

Roderich nodded. "Yes. Remember the soldiers that has the blue arm band instead of the red band are my men. Follow them out of here with Feliciano. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir."

They waited for what seemed like a million of years, but it was seconds that passed until they heard the small army coming closer to the church. Then into the building….

The thumps and stomps were first quiet, but the godforsaken sound became louder and louder, until it stopped altogether. Feliciano buried his face into Ludwig's chest feeling it rise and fall repeatedly; leaning his weight on the older teenager, the tension that was once making their stomach knot, began to soon disappeared into a more pleasant feeling. Feliciano felt safe… he felt like he was ready for anything. But all too soon, regardless of whether they were ready or not, the basement door slammed opened revealing the German soldiers with their guns and tasers in hand. But something was wrong.

The men began to fill the room one by one. Roderich scanned the arms of every man that entered the room, but something was completely off; he didn't seen anyone with a blue arm band. Then it hit Roderich. _These weren't his men._ Before Ludwig or Roderich could react, the soldiers were in formation to shoot. The majority of them were miraculously aiming straight at Feliciano-either standing or squatting-they managed to make sure that if Feliciano did anything, they would instantly shoot him if needed.

Ludwig hand glazed across the handle of his weapon, but was immediately concluded by the incoming footsteps that entered the room. The men before them cleared an aligned pathway for the tall figure across the room. Deep chuckles and laughter came from of the middle age man as he began clapping, almost like he was amused.

"Ha! My dear boy, how grand! You've made my day... you gave us quite a show, but all things must come to an end. Come Ludwig, leave the Hitman listee and you'll be safe!" Dictator Edelstein motioned Ludwig to come over, and then he looked towards his son, Roderich. "You too, come over here. I know you so well son, I figured you would do something stupid like this."

What was going on? Why are there soldiers here; why is _**he**_ here? Feliciano's grip tighten around Ludwig's waist as mixed emotion formulated in his heart. The dictator was pointing at Ludwig, signaling him to walk to the other side... Ludwig was going to leave his side. In the back of his mind he knew that it was a bad idea to befriend a German, but he was happy that he met Ludwig. Feliciano loosen his grip to push Ludwig off of him, but the blonde wouldn't bulge.

"Nein." Ludwig wrapped his arms around his shoulders and backed away from the dictator._**What?**_ Ludwig was holding him tighter than he would usually hold him.

"_**Nein! Nein! Nein!**_" He shook his head repeatedly, and turned Feliciano around to block his body from getting shot in any form or fashion. Wet warm drops of liquid hit and trickled down Feliciano's neck as he heard Ludwig's voice crack slightly. Feliciano looked up to see his face for the first time: frustration, red shot eyes from crying, and most of all, horror. "Luddy…", Feliciano felt his eyes get watery. He is willing to protect him, even if it met the end of him.

"T-Ti amo… I'm sorry Luddy…. I'm sorry…"

"Ludwig, Roderich, you have the count of three to come here, or we'll get you by force. Leave the Hitman listee."

"Father, please reconsider! These are children!" Roderich stepped forward to continue his plea, "Please spare them!"

"Shutup! They are not children anymore! You witnessed Ludwig mercilessly murder a Hitman inductee, so why should we treat him like he is a child! He is well qualified to work for me… I need someone as ruthless as he." The dictator stopped and let out a disappointing sigh. "This is taking too long. Men take care of them. Keep Ludwig and Roderich alive… leave the Hitman listee alive. I'll deal with her ."

The soldiers ran towards Roderich and pinned his sworming body to a nearby wall. After witnessing this Ludwig pulled out the gun that he had hidden in his cloak, and swung Feliciano on his back. "Ouch!" Feliciano body hit his back rather hard ,and it caught him off guard.

From left to right, multiple shots echoed throughout the room, stopping and killing the soldiers that dared to come any closer to them. Ludwig pulled the trigger once more to hear nothing more than a click. He cursed under his breath, "damn it!"

"Give us the Hitman listee Ludwig! Stop this nonsense!" the dictator stomped forward to confront the two. "Before I do." Ludwig stood there, adjusting Feliciano on his back, and glared at him before spitting in his face, "Go to Hell." In the briskness the dictator tore Feliciano off of Ludwig's back after pushing him towards the crowd of soldiers. It took a few people to take down the yelling, headbutting boy. Finally with a loud 'thump' on the dirty floor, Ludwig warily watched the dictator inch closer to Feliciano, reaching for his back pocket for his gun.

"No… _No!_..._**No!**_ _**Get away from her!**_" The more he fought back, the more he started to lose his strength. He hates this feeling: the feeling of being weak. He hates it! And all he could do now, was watch. Watch his love get murdered right in front of him because he was weak. The look that Feliciano had made his insides hurt. Feliciano began crawling back clearly weak and tired as the shadow of the man he once admired cover 'her' body. The gun was ready and loaded as he lift the weapon to aim straight at 'her' chest. 'Her' eyes were wide and dull filled with fear of death, and he couldn't save 'her'. He couldn't save 'her'...

BANG!

He felt like trash. No, worse like trash; he felt weak. He looked at the limp body the was tossed aside in the corner, then at Roderich who held a look of defeat, and then at Roderich's father, the man who killed Feliciano. Feliciano the person that he loved. Feliciano.

"Roderich, take care of the body. Men, take Ludwig to the sanatorium and get him ready for the surgery." He turned away and walked out of the room like nothing happened. Like _**nothing **_ happened…

Ludwig's memory after that was a blur. They took him to the hospital to get ready for the surgery that was later scheduled later on in the night. The scent of sanitizer clouded his nose as he laid there on the white hospital bed, looking at the plain white ceiling. He felt weight pressing against the edge of the bed. He scanned his features and let his mind slowly calculate who was the person before him. It was Roderich.

"I'm sorry." Roderich said, "I'm so sorry..." He looked the opposite way, ashamed.

"Don't be… either way, we weren't destine to be together. She was a Hitman listee, and I was a Hitman Inductee," Ludwig said quietly not batting an eye.

Roderich looked out the window, and stared at the sky allowing the setting sun to bathe his pale skin, "She is in a better place. I made arrangements for her to go back to her homeland…".

"Sir?"

"Yes Ludwig?"

"I want to forget. Help me to forget…" his eyes began to water. He felt disgusted of himself.

Roderich and Ludwig eyes met, but Roderich detached their gazes to look back outside the window. "Yes… it is for the best."

"Here, this was on her before her body was carried out." He grabbed the ring that was founded on Feliciano finger, and he gave to Ludwig. "It must've been special to her. After the performance I will make sure you keep that on ."

Ludwig smiled, and tried to hold back tears as he accepted the ring. Roderich turned around, "cry if you must, I won't judge." Ludwig's smile began to fall, being replaced with a look of sadness. That was the first time he has ever cried in front of anyone besides his brother...

_For both you and Feliciano. I wish to tell you this, but this would only hurt you more if I was to tell you I kept our promise..._

Feliciano's body felt numb; he felt empty. Opening his eyes he realized that he wasn't home. "Grandpa! Romano!" he shouted, but no one answered. The room was very nice: the colors were comforting and the bed was a lot bigger than what he was use to. Trying to get up a rush of pain hit his neck as his body fell back down. "Where am I?" His finger glazed across his chest to find a metallic necklace that was slightly bent, maybe because of sudden impact.

Heavy panting and footsteps were heard outside the room followed by an energetic scream of delight. The door was slammed open, startling Feliciano. It revealed a female with blonde shoulder length hair, with green eyes that matched her ribbon keeping her in place. She ran to Feliciano's direction and quickly grabbed his hands.

"Are you okay? You were out for awhile dear, but the surgery was a success!" Her smile enlighten the mood, but he was still confused.

"What surgery?"

The young lady's smile fell, but her grip tighten around his small hand. Leaning on the bed she said, "We had to remove a track device from the back of your neck. You might not remember what happen when you had the chip in you. Do you remember anything Feliciano?"

Feliciano tried to shake his head, but he stopped due to the soreness of the back of his head. "No, not really… all that I can remember was Lovino and I locked up in this cell, in Germany... Wait- y-you speak Italian? W-Where am I? How do you know me?"

"Hey! Calm down dear! I worked with your grandfather… don't worry so much, we will find your brother, and when the time is right, we will finish what we've started. The ambassadors' death won't be in vain." She brought his hand to her cheek and softly began sobbing, "you've been through so much! Don't worry dear, we will find Lovino…"

"Miss?"

She stopped crying, but continued to sniffed with a light smile, "yes dear?"

"What-what's your name?"

"Just Laura. I am from Belgium… You must be hungry, do you want some waffles?"

_**This is the beginning of the end. Life will become harder for everyone; all good things must come to an end.**_

_**End of Prologue of The Hit List**_

* * *

Hello!

Are you guys hype! Tell me what you think~

Thank you for reading this, and like I promised, I updated the story!

Make sure to check my page to see when I update!

Thanks FrauWolf and Lmaolevi! They are great!

Thank you readers for reading this. You guys are awesome.

Your author,

~Animefreak~ (6w6)~


	5. Chapter 5

_**WARNING :THIS HQSC IS BY FAR THE MOST RANDOM, BY FRAUWOLF**_

The_** fifth**_ chapter of The Hit List is_** below**_ this HQSC (Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter). But by all means look into it! ( =3 =)

**Humorous Quick Summary of Chapter 4! By my good friend, FrauWolf! It's great to have a little humor before this story don't you think? Enjoy this humorous interpretation of the Hit List Chapter 4.**

RECAP in

3…

2…

1…

Let the randomness begin~

Germany: Where my waifu at?! *_Finds Italy in the next room over_* Woman, what are you doing?! Get back in the kitchen before you get caught and we all die.

Italy: Sorry, I just found these nuts and I was going to eat them, but I'm far too uke to handle these nuts (no homo).

Germany: Here, I'm seme enough to handle these nuts (no homo).

*_Germany handles them nuts like a man_*

Italy: I think I'm in love.

Germany: We should kiss.

Italy: But I don't even like yaoi.

Germany: Let's keep this innocent. We don't have to do any weird yaoi stuff. Yet. ... Oh, by the way, you may have a tracking device in your neck.

Italy: Could you not of mentioned this sometime in between killing Inductee-chan and hitting first base?

Germany: ...

Austria Jr.: My dad sucks, I should let these two go free just to piss him off.

Soldier: Do you want us to open the door for you?

Austria Jr.: Don't worry, I've got this. *_Fails_*

Soldier: What a prissy little girl.

Austria Jr.: I'll find someway in, don't worry guys! I'll climb through the windows.

Germany:What are you doing? Get out.

Austria Jr.: Please don't hurt me, I'm fragile. Hey, you know what would be great? If nobody got murdered horribly.

Germany: Sounds great, only your dad is crazy. Do you have some kind escape plan or whatever?

Austria Jr.: Sure, but first you need to get rid of some cameras or my dad will see me helping you escape and I'd probably get grounded forever. Oh, and you'd probably get caught. That's important too.

Germany: Wow, I probably should have noticed those cameras earlier. Oh well. Let me see that gun, you'd probably just hurt yourself. *_Shots fired_* Okay, no more cameras, what's the next step of this plan?

Austria Jr.: That gun was super loud, I honestly have no idea what you just said.

Roderich III: Good job son, you caught the Hit listee. *_Shoots Italy_* Maybe one day you could be a proper villain, like me. Now to brainwash Germany into being a proper evil minion.

Germany: NNNOOO!

Austria Jr.: My ears are still ringing from that gun, what just happened? I heard literally nothing. I was going to help Italy escape, so is the plan still on after he got shot?

*_Later_* Italy: Why do I feel like I was shot, dragged across half the country, and then given an impromptu surgery?

Belgium: It's fine. Don't worry about it, it's fine. =3

Italy: Who are you? I can't remember anything since my Grandpa died, was there some kind of wild party or something? I think I have amnesia.

Belgium: You know what goes great with amnesia? Waffles. =3

_**And thus ends the incredibly long prologue to Veneziano's actual suffering.**_

_Let's get serious. The Hit List_

_Lovino's Story_

_Part 1 out of 3_

_My poor fratello,_

_I am sorry that I couldn't protect you from the hands of the Empire of the Greater German People. I will find you and bring us back home-and soon we'll be the ones celebrating and cheering over their agonizing groans of pain. For the battle is not over until I say it's over... But one day, not today, I will be with you once more and protect you, Feliciano… I won't fail you as an olde-_

"Hey Hit Listee, stop dosing off and finish doing your job! Tomate pequeño, are you ignoring me?!"

Happy thoughts. _**Happy thoughts**_. _Just ignore him and continue doing your job_... It is a blessing and a curse to be bilingual; Lovino was forced to listen to a certain Spaniard, even if it meant tolerating with his immature stupidity. His hand grazed upon the plumped tomatoes, making sure that the they were growing good enough to pick later on. Satisfied, he wiped the dirt off his hands on his overalls ,and picked up the basket full of ripe fruit. This should be the last round. With a smirk he began walking towards the back building to enter the double doors that lead to the kitchen. After this he will be done will today's-

SPLAT!

The once neatly stacked fruit that sat in the woolen basket, was now knocked over and smashed on the ground with the shoes of Lovino's Hitman, until everything was mush. Lovino quickly looked up to eye the man who was responsible, and it was none other than Antonio, his assigned Hitman. All day he has been trying to avoid him, but he always came across him wherever he went! Antonio was sinfully happy :his dark brown locks were wild, his green eyes glistened with excitement, and his smile was misleadingly caring.

"Hit listee, why did you ignore me back there? It was actually hurtful~", the 17 year old playfully brought a finger up to wipe an invisible tear, but all too soon the humorous moods dropped when Lovino didn't react to his little stunt. He was getting pretty use to it now; it has been about a few months since they officially met, and ever since day one, he had to put up with this assigned Hit Man, Antonio. Conversely, Antonio tilted his head in confusion, trying to comprehend the situation right now. This was not Lovino; this was not the thirteen year old temper headed freak that would threaten to kill him with a toothbrush.

Even if he was use to Antonio's behavior, he wasn't so use to controlling his temper. Anger slowly built up inside of him by the second, but he stopped himself from inching any closer to the older teenager before him. Balling his fits together, Lovino knees fell on the pebbled ground, forcibly reaching out his battered hands to touch the mash that accumulated on the ground. Correspondingly Antonio bent down to sit on the warm dry cement, peering at the Italian Hit Listee, hands cupped on each cheek -staring on with a look that was quite foreign to Lovino.

The Hit Listee glared at him, confused, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I wanted to tell you I won't be able to see you for a while." Lovino scooted the other way and continued cleaning with indignation. Antonio looked downward at the mess, "Sorry, I had to do something to keep you still- you'd never listen to me!" Lovino stopped cleaning to look up at Antonio as he watched the man squatted down besides him, picking up a pile of gush, "This was the only way I could talk to you without looking too suspicious, you know. It's dark enough so that no one will see us, and it's late enough so no one can easily catch u-"

Antonio was cut off by Lovino's cantankerous tantrum, as he shoved a scoop of mash tomato in Antonio's face, "Well, your plan was stupid. You could've done something else instead of waste perfectly good food, bastardo!"

"Really, Tomate? I told you to call me boss!" Antonio wiped the bits and pieces off of his face, flicking Lovino's temple with his forefinger, utterly ticked off by Lovino's behavior, "That was all I asked for -come on just say it once?"

"No! You do not deserve my recognition!" Under these circumstances it would be realistic for Lovino to celebrate and relax, knowing that the man that is supposed to kill him was leaving.

Yet his small grin began to falter into a frown of disapproval; he would be alone once more if Antonio leaves. Those cold and dark days, alone by himself, wondering when he was going to leave the disciplinary hall, all because of his futile attempt to escape. After about a month of being in that cramped room Antonio, his assigned Hit Man, persuaded one of the government official to release Lovino, under his watch to do labor work -until the day comes that Lovino wasn't of any use. To this day, Lovino still has yet to find out the true purpose of Antonio's decision to free him.

Lovino hates to admit it, as ironic as it may be, Antonio might be his only friend: the same man that was assigned to kill him someday was his friend. But he was not going to say it because that would be pitiful if that were to slip out right now. Lovino scooped the last bit of tomato paste off of the floor with his drenched sleeve, placing the chucks back into the basket. The scent of tomatoes clogged the night air, as Lovino stood up to stretch his back ,waiting for that oncoming 'pop' to loosen up his muscles. Satiated, he picked up the basket, made sure that the area was clean enough, and then turned around making his way to the back door of the neighboring building just behind them, "I am going to take my leave now!" His legs carried him for a few steps before hearing Antonio speak once more,

"Señor Tomate, you do know what that means right?"

Lovino paused dead in his tracks; he didn't bother to turn around. Nevertheless he stood there waiting for his nightmare to come true. He could hear the older man get up, follow the same identical footsteps that lead up to him, as he finished what he started, "I am no longer your assigned Hit Man. I am geting replaced for a drastic reason."

A soft breeze hit his skin, causing goose bumps to form on Lovino's exposed flesh. Whispers from the wind were heard, constantly howling low like a ragged whistle that was playing harmoniously in his ears. Already, he felt lonely, and abandoned. He gathered all the little courage he had and turned around slowly to face him. There he was with that misleading smile; his poker face. They stood a few feet away from each other, in silence, only listening to the comfort of nature's music: the rustles of the leaves the on and off 'hoots' of owls.

Without conscious of doing this, Lovino opened his mouth to unexpectedly ask a question that his heart was dying to know, "What is your reason?"

Antonio's lip tugged upwards as let the palm of his hand hit the top of Lovino's dark brown hair, "Since I am no longer assigned to you, it won't hurt to tell you", his smile fell as he dropped his hand back to his side, "I was convicted being in a homosexual affair with you."

_Homosexual affair with him? _Lovino crinkled his nose in disguised, backing away from the man before him, "That is preposterous! I don't like guys! I like girls-no I love _**girls!**_ How can someone think that?" He felt his cheeks get hotter and hotter by the second as he continued to to go on a rampage of how crazy this was.

"Relax. They only convicted me because they didn't want me to get too friendly with you." Lovino let out a secret sigh of relief as he looked on, to see Antonio gazing up to view the countless of stars that was in the sky, admiring the beauty of them, "Recently a Hit Man Listee and a Hit Man fell in love with each other…"

_**Ba-dump.**_

Lovino stood there, well captivated, listening to his own heart beat. _Love.. _They were in a similar situation like them right? Except for the love part that is… they are friends; friends that so happens to be in a crappy relationship that forces them to hate each other. That was what Lovino hoped Antonio viewed him, as a friend. Antonio's brilliant emerald eyes traveled the night sky, while Lovino stared at him in awe, watching carefully as the moonlight gave Antonio an unearthly glow."The Hit Man betrayed his country for a girl that he recently met. He fought for her safety, and even disowned his dictator," he halted to scratch the back of his head, "to think that I will be working with him soon. And at the end, the girl died. She couldn't escape death even if they went to hell and back, they can't change fate… love is..." Antonio broke his gaze to let his light green eyes wander in Lovino's brown orbs with a smirk, "...stupid, huh?" Awkwardly, Lovino nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I guess so…"

_No, love is what makes the world go round, so why am I pitifully agreeing with him?_

"I shall say my biddings," Antonio stuck out his black gloved hand, "It was quite remarkable having a little childish play to help me forget the job! It could get rather depressing you know." Lovino really didn't know what to say, _'Thanks for not killing me!'_ no too straightforward…_ 'See you when I'm dead!' _God that would be depressing… Lovino grabbed the larger reaching hand and Antonio slowly began to tighten up his grip.

_**Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.**_

His heart was beating uncontrollable fast while his breathing hitched every time he tried to say something. Beginning to feel his cheeks heat up, hung his head low enough to break eye contact. Turning away he quickly shook Antonio's hand and crossed his arms at his chest, "Sure. Whatever… And thanks for being my f-" he had to think before he said it. Slammering and silently cursing he looked down and started fiddled with his ring on his hand. _This was too embarrassing! _Shutting his eyes, he mentally counted to three before gaining the strength to open his eyes and tell him, "THANK YOU FOR BEING MY F-!" Antonio wasn't there anymore… Lovino was confronted by the still gardens that surrounded him in the moonlight, followed by the refilling fountain that was in the middle of the garden.

Lovino turned behind him, and then stood at his previous stance, "Damn it!" his eyesight began to get blurry, as the tears gradually began falling carelessly down his face. This was uncool -guys don't cry, unless it's Feliciano. He was fighting the urge to walk back inside of the building, feeling his face tense up, preparing himself for the impact of emotions that clouded his heart. Gripping the knob of the back door, he turned around to see the beautiful garden that he and Antonio started. "You should've let me finish you-" He brought a hand up to wipe away the tears, to stop them from falling, but failed as soft whimpers escaped his lips. "Idiot…"

...

Church stained windows lightened the room covering Lovino and the guards with a colorful veil. It was empty and quiet, clearly silent enough to hear the echoes of their moving feet. Today was Sunday, the day that the officials agreed to let Lovino go to a nearby catholic church, only if he listens and respects his new Hit Man. It has been about a good week since the dispatch of Antonio, and Lovino's life has been pretty dull. It has been the same continuous schedule: clean, eat, sleep, pray.

Earlier that day, in the morning, his daily routine was untimely interrupted when one of the uniformed guards confronted him. Even if Lovino didn't want to follow the man, he didn't have a say-so of whether or not he wanted to go, thus he followed the taller and broader man out of the garden, where he was doing most of his chores at, to enter into something rare: the front double doors. He was prohibited to go through the front. That was for the higher ups, not for people like him. Lovino hesitantly took the first upward step to the staircase, that revealed two butlers awaiting for them to greet and open the front door. The next step sent an impulsive wave of worry; this will be the first he has ever made it into the main quarters, the home of the dictator...

They entered inside the main house in the complex, and Lovino watched the man that he was to follow state his greetings to other wandering guards, that they so happened to bump into a few momentary seconds after entering. After their small chat, the guards made their way to Lovino's direction. Bracing himself for any source of pain he tighten his eyes shut together, stiffly standing up straight, and balled the hand that wore the ring that Grandpa Roma provided for them. At the exact moment the few guards passed him, they glanced at each other, and were downright confused by the actions of the Hit Man. They shrugged it off, smiled at him, and then walked off to their designated posts.

Lovino revolved around to overlook the back heads of the passing men, in disturbance. This was the first time in months that he was given total recognition, so why now? The guard began walking, leaving Lovino vainly behind. The teenager paced slowly taking in his surroundings. Black shiny floor tiles hit the heel and the toe of his work boots, draping white curtains blocked the welcoming sun exclusively giving the room a grey tinge. An unlit chandelier was hung up in the middle of the ceilinged room, as Lovino halted to stand in front of the large hanging pictures. Pictures hung neatly across the walls of previous dictators to the present one: a woman. The painted picture complemented her waving brown locks that were pinned up in a wavy bun. She had a serious face, with sharp green eyes, a little similar to Antonio's features -but less tense. He was sure that if she were to smile, or maybe give out a hearty laugh, she would look like Antonio.

"Hey! We don't have all day!" the guard was at the elevator placing his hand on the scanner to open up the doors, impatiently murmuring a few things that went along like, "Hurry up" or "He is wasting my time." Going up and down the elevator was their only source of transportation to go on multiple floors. Lovino looked away from the portrait to face him, and then back to the artwork again. "Yes, I'm coming…" he parted away and letted the name plate below the picture burn in his mind. _Clarissa Carriedo Fernandez… _That was the dictator of Spain. He made his way to the elevator, and awaited for the guard to close the door making the automatic machine make a _'ching' _sound.

Once they arrived on the right floor, Lovino was escorted by several other guards that were waiting for their arrival. Lovino followed them to the only door that was on the floor. The metal door was very systematic, containing dozens of locks and cameras that was scattered about in the wide hallway. With the quickness, all of the codes were cracked by the opposite member that was behind the door. The guards nodded to each other and guided Lovino into the substantial room, seating him down a dozen feet away from the desk, a middle-aged man was seated reading a few documents and paper work, typing a few notes on his laptop. When the guards left and exited the room, Lovino nervously sat there looking ahead of him, waiting for the man to look up to acknowledge his existence.

"Do you recall anyone telling you that you will be receiving a new Hit Man, right?" The man never looking away from his laptop finally glanced up to view the teenager before him.

He was testing Lovino. He knew that whatever Lovino said, he will use against him. Antonio and Lovino weren't supposed to meet that night, nor were to communicate either. Lovino thought about his answer before retorting back, "No, I was not aware…"

"Good", he got up to go to his impressive book shelf to slide his finger on a few books before pulling out the one he wanted. "Today you are going to meet the newly allocated Hit Man. You are to respect him and listen to him. We won't be so easy on you like the first few months of your entrance," he flipped a few pages out of the book, eventually stopping the motion of the pages with his finger.

"Yes sir, but I must ask you only one favor," Lovino looked down, to think how he should word this. The official arched his brow, and set his book on his desk. He walked around the coffee table that separated the two, and sat down on it, "Spit it out. Just say it, but it can't be nothing major like freeing you."

"No! It's nothing like that…", he shook his head and sat up straight, "I was going to ask if I could visit a Church once per week, on Sunday." The official stared at him, creating an unmanageable silence before standing up and walking back to his desk, "We can make it happen. You can start going today to start things off," he grabbed his coffee mug that was sitting on his coaster. Bringing the cup to his lips he paused; his eyes flickered, "But if you try to escape you will be punished by law." Lovino nodded and with a signal from the official, the guards came in and took him away from the room, back to the main floor, and back into the garden.

_But if you try to escape you will be punished by law_. Lovino gulped after replaying that memory… It was his only chance out of the estate, but was it really worth it? He grabbed his hose and began watering the crops, as he thought about what was coming later on that day.

So here he was now. Praying to God in the hopes that the escape will work. He got up and finishes his plea, and mentally started counting the guards that were watching him. Two were at the door, eight were scattered about in the sanctuary, five were outside the building, and his new Hit Man was sitting right beside him. He was recently assigned to him, but they hadn't spoken a _word _to each other. The Hit Man looked like he was in his mid-twenties: black hair, brown eyes, olive skin which was similar to his complexion. What was a way to gain respected privacy; what was a way to have guaranteed alone time? His eyes traveled across the room when he spotted the restroom sign. Lovino smirked, and then tapped the neighboring man's shoulder, "Hey, I have to use the bathroom. May I go?" The man grunted before sighing, "Yes, you may." When they got up the guards were alert and followed their movements. Lovino glanced behind him and noticed that all fifteen guards were following him and the Hit Man.

When Lovino entered the one man bathroom, he closed the door and began to hear the Hit Man instruct some orders to the guards, "If you hear a sound figure out what he is doing in there…" Lovino looked around the bathroom to see if there was some sort of opening, but sadly all that was on the walls was one mirror above the sink and a few small crosses. He looks into the mirror to see if there was anything off about it. Raising his hands to the frame of the mirror he felt a shift and saw the outside. He gasped.

"What's that noise?! What is going on in there?!" Lovino could hear the guards twist the door knob. He felt his palms get sweaty, and his heart beat get faster. _Crap, got to think of something quick._

On the opposite end of the door, they swung the door open to reveal Lovino sitting on the toilet with his legs crossed, "What the hell are you doing!?"

The Hit Man quickly shut the door, "My apologies!"

Lovino sighed and pulled his pants back up to proceed what he started. He gripped his hands on the frame of the mirror and pulled it towards him very slowly until he finally got the whole thing out. He placed it on the sink, and carefully got himself up on the sink to kick his leg out the opening. He leaped out of the window like gap, and quickly placed the mirror back in.

Running. Freedom. Fear. Excitement. Those were the things that was revolving around Lovino's mind as he was finally and successfully escaping. He didn't know where he was running but all he knew was that he was _**free**_. But where should he hide? Who will help him? He has never gotten this far before, so he really hasn't been putting any thought into this. If he ran into the open plain, it would be easy for them to spot and shot him down. If he runs into the city, he could ask people how to get to the next country, but he has to be careful not to look too suspicious.

Then it was final. He is going to go in town to get connections to leave the country, and back to Italy. He made his way down the hill and into the busy streets of Madrid, the capital. It looked fairly similar to what you'll see in Italy: food carts, smiling faces,and great scenery. He began walking, and accidentally bumping into the rushing and passing citizens. They would say their quick "sorry" and continue on with their merry lives. While walking he heard something very familiar. He really couldn't put his finger on it ,but he remembers this tune. He followed it. After some turns and traveling across the outermost part of the city, following the tune inched him closer and closer to the middle of the town, and then ultimately finding the source of the musical instrument.

The closer he got, he started to hear voices sing the melody, along with the tune. He made his way around the final building to hear cheers and shouts from a huge amount of people; they surrounded a circular stage and sang and danced. Lovino looked around and took in this warm feeling, but stopped himself when he forgot his true goal. He walked up to a dancing young woman, who was serving Spanish cuisines to everyone in the crowd._ What the heck was going on? _He approached her over the food stand, smelling the delicious foods that were a lot better than what they fed him in the estate.

"You want one?" Lovino looked up to see that the same young lady offering him a bite. "Ah- no thank you. I ha-"

"Wha-! You don't want to try this! My brother specially made this for everyone on our independence day. This has been the forty-seventh year that our world has been safe by our dictators?"

"That is great and all, but-", the young women snuck the food in his mouth forcibly, as she watched him chew and then swallow. "So-, How is it?"

Lovino's eyes sparked in happiness. This was the first time in a long time that he had real food, "My God, this is amazing!"

She smiled, "Yep my hermano, is the best cook around," then her cheery smile fell, "If only mother could appreciate him as much as I do… My name is Agalia, its origin means bright and joy." She gave him a plate of food, which he accepted gratefully, "I can't share my name, sorry." Agalia nodded in an understanding motion, and went right back to what she was saying, "Right now my brother is on a vacation from work. He told me it has been stressing him out very much to the point he _asked _our mother to get a break from the job."

Lovino wiped his mouth with a napkin, and took a sip of water. He was indeed interested, so he carried on the conversation with a question, "What jobs do your brother and mother have?"

Her hand stopped serving a scoop of rice before resuming, "I can't say…" she gave the plate to a little girl bidding her off with a grin, "But you can meet him! I will tell him that you adored his cooking." Agalia straighten out her wavy brown locks that were from her green eyes. Lovino froze. Brown wavy hair and green eyes? These were the same feature that Antonio and the dictator have. Don't tell him that, "Are you somehow related to Antonio?"

She clapped her hands together and gave him a cheeky grin, "So you know my brother!" Lovino carried on, "And is your mother _Clarissa Carriedo Fernandez_?"

Her metal container that was once in her hands dropped on the floor, denting it, "H-How do you know that?" Now that Lovino clearly looks at her face, she does look exactly like Antonio, yet the only difference is that her face was puggier compared to Antonio's cut features. Her hair was in a low ponytail leaving the rest of her hair flow in the wind, and her bang swooped neatly across her face.

"May I please talk to him?"

She stopped to think for a moment before saying, "Follow me." Lovino grabbed his plate and cup and started to follow Agalia out of the party and into a neighborhood. They passed by many houses before turning to enter into a decent sized house. She dug into her pocket to find her key, until the door swung open revealing Antonio with a bunch of cooking supplies, "Hey Agalia, help me out with this-" He stared at the slightly smaller figure behind her, in shock. "Antonio, don't freak out. We need to talk with him…"

...

"Wait so let me get this straight. You ran away from the new Hit Man!? You're going to get killed!" Antonio rubbed his temples in frustration, "My God! What the fu-!"

Agalia smacked him on the arm, "Language!"

The Spaniard man glared at his older sister, and reformed his sentence, "Why would you run away like that when you clearly know that you will be punished by the law!?" Lovino paused and explained, "For freedom. I can't stand the thought of wondering when I am going to die hands of your mother. I miss my brother, Feliciano. I don't even know if he is okay! I miss being a normal teenager! I miss having friends and having stupid teachers! I miss being free...", the table was silent after that. Lovino breathing was ragged and he felt a wave of tears coming.

"Fine, I will help you out. I am no longer your Hit Man anyway," Antonio got up from his seat to go upstairs.

Agalia got up to stop him,"Antonio, what are you doing!?" Her younger brother ignored her and went inside of his room, grabbing what seemed like a hand knife. "Antonio! Get down here! You're not going to do that here, are you? " Antonio looked at the oddly shaped knife, "If I am going to help him, we have to get the tracker device out. Agalia start the vehicle, and get Lovino ready. We have to get as far away as possible so that they don't track us back to this location." He went to the bathroom and got towels, rubbing alcohol, and tweezers, "Agalia are you down down there!?" She replied back, signaling that it was time to go.

Lovino and Agalia was in the back seat with all of the necessary supplies to perform the quick and illegal operation. Antonio entered and sat in the front seat, starting up the car, "Agalia, are you ready? We are going to travel the countryside in circles. It takes the track device one hour to send a location back to the estate," he started up the car and began driving out the garage, "Meaning if we are constantly driving, it'll be harder, and it'll take longer to get an exact location."

"Hold up-! You want me to take the tracker while you're driving!?" Agalia whined.

"Precisely."

The city soon transformed into the country in the matter of minutes, as Lovino felt Agalia rub the rubbing alcohol on the back of his neck getting ready to stick the knife into his flesh. "Is the pain medication kicking in?"

Lovino shook his head, "No." The young lady nodded and repeatedly place new layers of alcohol on his skin, "We can wait..."

"Agalia you have to do it now," Antonio protested.

"Antonio let's just wait until the medication knocks him out!"

Antonio looked adjusted the mirror and looked into it, "You know that we can't do that. You have to start now!"

Defeatly, Agalia grabbed the towels to lay it on her lap, and laid Lovino's head down. Lovino looked up at her, eyes showing fear,"Will it hurt?" Antonio looked the other way and turned the radio on, channeling it to the classical song, _Pachelbel Canon D_ ,turning it up loud. Agalia bounded his arms together, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pinned his head down with her right hand, "Yes it will."

The knife dug into his skin, as whimpers escaped Lovino's lips. It was bearable at first until she got deeper, and finally hitting the chip. A bolt of pain hit his neck as the electronic buzzed in his back neck, "Ahh!" The music muffled most of his cries, and shouts of "No more!" He started kicking and and squirming in the grasp of Agalia. The specially made knife began digging the chip out, carefully making sure that it doesn't hit the spine. Blood began to soak the towels and Agalia's lap as she stopped once more to pin the screaming teen's head. She grabbed the bottle rubbing alcohol, and began to pour onto the small gap on his neck, causing him to kick Antonio in the back. Thus this made the 17 year old Spaniard get slightly off of the road, catching Agalia and Lovino off guard. Agalia mistakenly lost her grip on Lovino, and watched as Lovino broke out of her grip.

"Relax! Calm down, I am almost done!"

Agalia did the same routine that she once did earlier to pin him down, but one of his hands was still in the way. A hand reached to grab Lovino's problematic one. Lovino's hazing teary eyed vision accepted the hand. "I won't pull away. Release as much of your pain. You don't have to do this alone Tomate. I am here for you."

The clip was finally loose enough to be pulled out by the tweezers. It was out and Lovino was happy that that the sharp stinging pain was now declined, and Antonio was happy that his hand was no longer being tormented. Antonio sighed, "What we have to do next it get an animal."

Agalia started bandaging Lovino up, patting him on the head if she ever gets the chance to do so, "That's smart. If we get an animal we can put the tracker on it so that we could lose them, and it'll give us enough time to take him home… Or maybe we should break it."

"It's not easy. You need special equipment to bend it once. And even if you did want gone forever, you have to disable it. We don't have the power to do that, but nice idea though."

They reached their destination, and sighed altogether. Lovino will be safe. Antonio got out of the car to enter the small shop, "Agalia. I want you to look after Tomate, okay?" He looked at the boy that was on his sister's lap and smiled, "We will help you find your home. Get better soon -because it's no fun bullying a crippled person, right?" Lovino smiled back, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

Antonio grinned, and waved off, entering the shop. Seconds to minutes passed, as they waited for Antonio to come back. "You were supposed to lose all of your memories of when the clip was implanted in you to when I took it out. You're something special…" she patted his head while looking at her tinted watch, "Antonio's been in there for a while. I'll be right back to check on him, okay." Lovino reached out for her and gripped her dress, "Wait, don't go…" "Relax, I will be back!" She helped Lovino sit up, and took her leave.

Everything was getting too quiet. Lovino is very tempted to get out of the car himself to check out what was going, but his neck was sore every time he turned or moved it. Therefore, he was forced to stay seated. He hummed the melody from the radio, until he started to hear excessive noise from the background. Looking forward into the rearview mirror, he spotted dozens of black trucks driving in full speed this way. That was when it hit him, they were coming, "Antonio! Agaia!" They were coming. He looked into the mirror again to find them almost near the shop. At the exact same moment Antonio and Agalia came out of the store carrying a black small kitten. When they looked out to see the incoming group of cars coming this way, their eyes widen. They ran to the car and got in it ready to go. Antonio stepped on the gas pedal and began to drive off.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"The fuck! They have guns!" Antonio cried.

"Of course they have guns idiot! They are the government trying to get Lovino back!" His sister protested.

The car began to go slower and slower, causing Agalia to panic, "Why are you going slower !? Aren't we trying to save Lovino!?" Antonio press the gas pedal harder, but it continued to move get slower, "Damn it they shot a tire! No, No, No! Come on!" He slams his hand on the wheel as the car came to a complete stop. "You got to kidding... Damn it!" His head fell and rested on the top wheel, as he grabbed his head murmuring a few curse words. Lovino has never seen this side of Antonio, it scared him. For the light-hearted goofy Antonio to lose his cool like this, wasn't a good sign, "I'm sorry guys! I-I-I didn't mean to harm you! I-I'm so sorry!" Lovino was starting to lose it, this has been the first time he has experienced upcoming death.

Agalia banged the top ceiling of the car to stop the whining boys, "Stop it! None of you are going to die, so stop this right now!" She grabbed Antonio's shoulder to spin him around to face him, and grabbed Lovino's hand to comfort him, "Let big sister Agalia handle your burdens. When they do arrive respect them, and listen to them. I am going to make sure they don't hurt you guys," she smiled and leaned over to kiss Antonio on the forehead, before parting away. Then she lightly flicked Lovino's s forehead, a common sign of affection in her mind. Antonio once did that to him…

Unexpectedly the door flung open and a soldier yanked Agalia out the car, by the collar, separating them. "Get away from her!" Antonio got out of the car, and started running towards her,"Hey are you alright?"

She rose up looking at her brother with disapproval, "I told you that I am going to handle this! Promise me something, save the Hit Listee. I know he did not do anything wrong. He is just a child, and he is already experience hell on earth!"

A soldier stepped forward to Antonio, handing him a gun, "Antonio son of the dictator, come back to the estate and resume working as a Hit Man of the Hit Man Listee, Lovino Vargas, and shoot this traitor down! Or if you don't, you will all be labeled as a traitor, and there will be a public execution for the both of you. If you try to revolt against us we'll snipe you. Your choice."

Antonio stared at the gun and then at his sister, "Agalia I can't do this to you. I can't." Standing up, Agalia cupped her hands in his face and smiled, "Let big sister Agalia handle this…" His tears rolled down her hand as Antonio's shivering hand raised the gun towards her. "Turn around; I will make this painless Agalia…" Hics and sobs were heard as she turned around facing away from her brother, "I love you, little brother."

"I-I love", he rested the tip of the gun at the right spot of her neck, "I love you too."

BANG!

Antonio fell on his knees as he crawled to his sister's corpse, crying and repeatedly saying sorry. He hugged her and tightens his grip around the body, rocking her, as the soldiers began to pull him off of her. "W-wait! No! Five more minutes -no one! Please I would like to be with her a little longer! NO!"

Lovino sat there and watched it all happen. He watched Agalia last expression before she died. She was smiling, looking at him. Guilt flushed his heart as he began crying in the van. It was his fault…

...

Lovino's public punishment was getting set up at the time square. People that were once celebrating life, freedom, independence were now going to witness him at his misery. He had once believed that this lawful punishment was scary, but now he believes that he deserved it. The death of Agalia will always play vividly in his mind; the sight of Antonio weeping for his sister, it would always play vividly in his mind.

Now it was Antonio's chance to get his payback, for being the reason and the cause of her death. Everyone threw trash, calling him ungrateful names. He deserved this. He has to bear through it... The announcer came up to read his decree, causing everyone to be dead silent, "Lovino Vargas has been convicted for escaping his crimes. By law the Hit Man of the Hit Man Listee is permitted to give him or her fifty lashes." Once the man was done, he nodded to the soldiers to start tying him up to get started.

Antonio walked up to Lovino and leaned down, "I'm so sorry…"

SNAP!

"Ahh!" Tears began to form in his eyes as the whip hit his back. The pain was far worse than any before, and he could hear Antonio's constant 'sorrys' for each lash of the whip he was given.

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

Why is the world so cruel that they must punish the innocent? The cries of Lovino, the whip lashes, he was the cause of it. Antonio entered the servant's quarter with ointment, a bucket, of water and a towel to clean Lovino up. He approached the door that was heavily guarded, and with the recognition of his face they let him through. Just today they had changed Lovino's wooden door into a steel one; he typed in the code to get through the door and closed it right behind him.

Antonio's heart ached when he saw the sight before him. Skin was torn off Lovino's bare back, as Antonio heard the hitching of his breathing increased. The Spaniard shakingly grabbed the only chair in the room, and sat it next to Lovino's bed, "I am going to clean you up, okay," he forcibly smiled at him trying to control his emotions. Lovino tilted his head to Antonio's direction, fighting the soreness from his neck, "So you are not mad with me?"

Gulping to compose himself and hold back tears, Antonio shakingly smiles, "No. I'm not," he applied the cool green ointment after cleaning the blood off his back. "Why would I?"

Lovino forced himself to get up, sobbing, "Thank God… Thank you for being my friend Antonio," he stuck out his hand to show his gratitude, but was rejected when Antonio pulled him in for a hug, making sure that he didn't hurt Lovino. "You idiot! Don't say those things when I was the one who caused you pain! You should be the one upset! I should be the one saying sorry!"

"Thanks for being my friend…"

"Stop that… please. If you don't, you'll only hurt us both…"

* * *

_**Yeah! You see what I did there? **_

_**You know how Feliciano's story took like four chapters? (=`w =)**_

_**Yep, making Lovino's story into three chapters! (^ o ^)~**_

_**I would like to thank my editors lmaolevi AND FrauWolf!**_

_**ALSO lmaolevi has a story that is posted, please check it out!**_

_**AND FrauWolf is planning on posting a story too!**_

_**I would love to know what were the reactions for this chapter! ~**_

_**~Animefreak~(6w6)**_`

IMPORTANT

[ED/N - FrauWolf] Hello everyone, this FrauWolf. This is just a heads up that following this chapter, the rating will most likely be changed to M due to the graphic content, intense violence, and gore that's going to happen in the later chapters. This isn't a cute story, and it is going to get very brutal. I have been giving Animefreak a whole lot of ideas, and I am a rather morbid person, so the characters suffer an awful lot from my suggestions, especially in this chapter and in the next. The story I'm currently working on is much less miserable and angsty though, and I'm going to try and post it once I finish it all up. It's a Gauken Hetalia story featuring Hungary, Japan, and Taiwan, and it'll be five chapters if my plan works out. The first two chapters are already done, and there will be various pairings. Lmaolevi is currently writing as well, having the first chapter of a Gerita fanfic posted, and some other things she's working on. Animefreak herself has a bunch of things that she's working on, but she wants to finish The Hit List first. Levyyeeger, another friend of ours, has some crackfics that she has posted. Thank you for reading this, we all appreciate the support this story has been given, and we look forward to writing more. =3


	6. Chapter 6

_[ED/N - FrauWolf] _

_This is a warning that, from this point in the story onward, the content rating will be changed to be "M" instead of "T" The reason for this change is due to the content in this and future chapters. There will intense and graphic violence, angst, blood, gore, character death, graphic mutilation, angst, depressive themes, language, homophobia (internalized and externalized), angst, way more sex than there needed to ever be in this story, some more blood and gore, angst, etc. and many of the things listed happen in this chapter alone. Oh, and it gets a little angsty, too. If you think that this is a cute story, than you are tragically mistaken. Thank you - FrauWolf_

_Author's Note~_

_**Thank you for being very patient~! I am truly happy that people are actually reading this! PLEASE READ THE WARNING ABOVE!**_

_Your Author,_

_~Animefreak~(606)_

_**PLEASE GUYS, READ THE WARNING! YOU ARE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK!**_

_Now let's get serious. The Hit List_

_Lovino's Story _

_Part 2 out of 3_

_My dear Feliciano,_

_Life has been a little bit better compared to the last four years. Over the years I have gained back the trust of the officials and guards in order to go back out of the estate with my Hit Man, and to work in the crops with the other citizens. I've made companions as well as enemies at the farming area; I have someone that I can call my own… but I am ashamed. Ashamed he might love me... Ashamed of what my pure puppy love became of. My "Thank you for being my friend," has slowly progressed into, "I hope this night will never end." But I truly don't know what is going on in his mind; he is too much of a damn idiot to take the hints that I am giving him. Or maybe he does know, and he is avoiding this whole ideal. Perhaps it's for the best that he really isn't saying anything about it. Please forgive me for becoming the shameful brother that I've become, so I pray that you are safe and that you'll never love like me. _

Farmers were bathed in the sight of a great orange, red and purple sky as a huge pale yellow sun began its descent into the deep horizon. Today was a hard day of work containing digging up potatoes from the soft footstep patterns of soil, picking string beans and peppers from the patches of tall adjustable stems that were wrapped around wooden bars, and the picking of tomatoes. Trails of moisture dampen Lovino's body while he flung the last bag of potatoes on his back, "Thank God this is the last bag for today." The 17 year old Italian followed the crowd of workers, both male and female as well as young and old, to drop off the last bit of produce in the correct station.

"Hey Lovi! Lovi! Over here!" Lovino dropped the heavy vegetables on the patch of grass, and looked down behind him to face two children around the ages of nine and ten. Despite today's loadtage of work they were as lively as ever, pouncing and playing with their smaller bag that swung behind their backs -smiling. Lovino looked at the girl and the boy, adjusted his sun hat ,and placed his free hand on his hip, "Anna, Camilo... what do you two want?"

Anna leaned towards Lovino and cupped her hand up near her mouth, "Big brother Antonio was watching you like a creep for the past hour!" Camilo nodded and added on to the conversation, "He's just standing there under the tree like a weirdo! Big brother has been doing this for awhile, hasn't he?" In unison the two children pointed to the direction Antonio was standing at. He was far away from them, but close enough for them to see his features. When Antonio's and Lovino's eyes met the Spaniards beamed and risen his hand to wave at Lovino. Anna squinted her eyes and raised a hand to block the blinding light away, "Do you see him Lovi?" Lovino began to pick up his bag to finish his last load, and glanced over his shoulder, giving Antonio an awkward and annoyed smile. "Yes, I see the damn bastard," Lovino continued to walk ahead, listening to the small pitter-patters of feet, following him to the station, "Wait up Lovi!"

The three dropped off their batches off into the generating machine, sighing and rejoicing that it was finally time to go home. Anna, Camilo, and Lovino got their backpacks ready to go, making their way to the gates, swiping their identification cards on the scanner to exit the fields. The two children said their final goodbyes, returning back to their parents. Lovino smirked and waved off as he watched the vehicles drive off into the countryside on the dirt road, leaving him behind.

...

Lovino stared outside the bullet proof glass, feeling the motions of the government truck sway his body entirely, as it ran over the unbalanced one way dirt road. He relaxed his body and place his weight delicately on the surface of the door, watching the world go by. There were a few estate vehicles already driving at a constant speed in the front, and in the back of the current vehicle that he was already in. Shifting his arm over to the right , he rubbed his wrist, shaking his chained cuffs that bundled his hands together. The two guards that were presently sitting in the front seats locked their eyes with Lovino in the rear view mirror as they held their weapons tight, waiting patiently for the Hit Man Listee to screw up . Meanwhile Antonio was cleaning off his mask, whistling an old popular Spanish tune from the earlier century, that was playing on the radio. His cheery whistle trailed off when he saw Lovino trying to force his tired eyes to stay open. He placed his mask back on to tap Lovino on his shoulder. "Hey -wake up Hit Man Listee. Tonight is the banquet, and you have to serve there, remember?" Antonio place a hand on Lovino's back, shaking him slightly, "Once you're asleep, it's extremely hard to get you back up you know..."

Turning his head to the side, Lovino pulled down on his straw hat and murmured, "Do I have the permission to speak?" The man beside him nodded. Lovino hates the fact that he must ask for permission to speak with anyone before he talks. Sure- he has cursed out a few high officials, and even said a few impudent things that was on his mind to some well-deserved people, but that doesn't mean the officials has to take away his right to speak! Lovino's head planted the glass window, feeling his body about to give out. "Well, I had a long day today. I'm sure that I can squeeze in some sleep…" With one click of a button the inner lights of the truck flashed to it's maximum brightness, forcing Lovino to officially wake up with a shriek. Antonio lowered his hands from the ceiling light, patting Lovino on his head,"Wake up. If you go to sleep now it'll be harder for you to wake up when we get there." Lovino sneered and propped his body up to lay against the seat cushion, furrowing his brows to avoid relaxing his muscles. Lovino turned towards the locked door to softly face planted the cool glass window. Never separate him from his sleep. That was one of Lovino's self-made rules to _never separate him from his sleep_. But unfortunately, Antonio does have a point… It's harder for him to wake up from good sleep than to actually stay up. Lovino twisted his body to sit upright before glaring at Antonio and rolling his eyes, spitting out the words, "Let's start a conversation… if I have the permission from you, that is." Antonio nodded and cleared his throat to start off an appropriate conversation to have in front of the government guards. Lovino needed to do something to keep himself awake.

…

It was very uncommon for the dictator of Spain to throw parties as extravagant as this one tonight; especially the ones that he had to go to. Almost everyone who arrived by helicopter were lavishly stunning, and it clearly showed that they came from money and status. The helicopter would first land on the cemented platform, which contained at least five servants greeting and taking care of their overnight luggage. Than they would walk on the adjacent red carpet leading to the officials that stood in the main entrance door, to greet them. Based off of the visitor's features, it seems that they weren't from Spain at all. Lovino watched each individual greet and smile to Spain's officials from his bedroom door. He looked downwards towards an upcoming group of people; these people were different… They looked more intimidating. Lovino looked closer, squinting his eyes to focus more on their faces. The leader was undoubtedly Asian: slicked back shoulder length hair that was tied up in a low ponytail. He wore a black suit ,like the majority that attended the party, with a red tie -similar to what his followers were dressed like. When the small group of people confronted the officials , who were waiting for their arrival at the door, they were simply pushed aside without giving them a friendly "hello". Once they passed it was quite visible to see the officials complain about the Asians' behavior, but they quickly hushed when the next group encountered them.

Unlike the first horde of people, the next group had a different approach on things. A larger built man reached out his hand with a smile, comforting the representatives. His lightly tinted beige scarf was swung around his neck in a slightly lazy manner, yet it fitted his playful personality. Lovino stop to glance at what was behind the taller man. Two males were silently standing a few feet behind him with their heads down low, trying to avoid any eye contact with anyone. Confused, Lovino looked back at the man that was finishing up his small talk with the representatives. He bid them goodbye, but then stopped to turn around to face the building that Lovino was currently in. From the corner of his eyes he stared at Lovino from afar, and smiled once again, but this time it was more forceful. _**Kolkolkolkol**_

Lovino gasped and quickly closed his curtains together. That was uncomfortable… The expression that he made was almost sinister. Maybe he was bipolar… But whatever he was, he was scary, and Lovino hoped that he won't have to encounter him during dinner. Lovino fell on his bed and looked at the ceiling , biting his lips, and then finally glanced at his digital clock that sat pointlessly on his dresser: 6:19 p.m. The party would start at 7:oo p.m, which gives him enough time to dry his hair from the shower he took earlier, and take a short nap before he changed into the suit Antonio gave him. Sitting back up on his bed, Lovino began to unbutton his shirt. His feet met with the cold wooden floor, as he walked across the room to raise his hands to reach the suit that was hanging in his closet. His eyes caught a glimpse of his body in the mirror in his closet as he gripped the expensive suit. He slowly tugged the suit off of the single hanger, letting it fall on his feet. The little lamp that sat on his dresser shune and revealed his imperfections: the scars… The scars were still on his back… No matter how many times he tried to scrub it off in the showers, and no matter how many times he tries to forget about that day, the scars will always be there...

He wants to go home, but his attachment to the people of Spain is getting in the way of doing so. His absent-minded feelings for Antonio weren't going to save him, nor could he save himself. He already knows that he is of no use anymore because his visits to the officials' office ceased..._ Damn it... Where's Antoni-?_ Lovino had to stop himself before he could finish. He was now realizing it, but he doesn't want to admit it: he was becoming dependent of Antonio. Perspiration rolled down his temple as he glared at his reflection, running a trembling hand down the frame, before slamming his fist on the wall , "I am pathetic..." He loves Antonio, and he is sure that he loves him back... right? Antonio has different ways of showing his affections, but for the past few months, Lovino had been thinking. _What if_ _Antonio's feelings for him were not triggered by sincere affection, but triggered by guilt? _Lovino picked up the suit and thrown it down forcefully along side with him on the bed. Rolling over on his stomach, he closed his eyes and buried his face in his pillow; he needed to sleep. Lovino gripped his hands on his sheets as he fought back his tears. He was tired of this...

...

_What is this?_

_Everything was blurry as Lovino tried to comprehend his surroundings. He couldn't feel the ground nor the breeze of the wind, but he felt an unfamiliar warmth of the longing that he has sought-after. His vision began to clear as he felt his body carry him over to a single door that was in midst of nothingness. Italian music was heard on the other side, making Lovino hastily open the door. A fresh delicious aroma hit his face: tomato sauce and garlic bread. The lights in the room blinded him for a second until his eyes adjusted. It was a well decorated kitchen; something similar of what you'll see in a cook magazine. The sound of chopping drew Lovino in as he watched the backside of an unknown figure cooking one of his favorite meals. The figure had auburn hair, shades that were lighter than his own. Lovino watched as the auburn's curl bobbed to the beat of his chopping._

_Lovino inched closer... He reached his trembling hand up to brush his finger tips on the white apron, but he then stopped. __**Feliciano... I can't let you see me like this... Just wait a little longer for me. I am not ready to be your role model just yet... **__He dropped his hands and clenched them after turning back around. In his heart, he wants to see his Fratello, but in order to lead by example he has to become uncorrupt. He walked away from the figure without turning back. He couldn't turn back; turning back meant regrets. A warm hand suddenly gripped Lovino's hand, slowly bringing Lovino back to reality._

"_Fratello! Don't go! I was about to make pasta for Grandpa Roma. You wanna make some with me?" An older Feliciano, different from what he remembered, had rolled up his sleeves and tightened his grip on Lovino's hand . Feliciano's eyes were a little watery in the fear of being rejected. Lovino stood there in shame, "Feli…", he made his way around the island countertop, to his confused younger brother. He wrapped his arms around his brother tightening his grip on his shirt, allowing his tears to stain his shirt, "I'm so sorry..." Lovino was going to abandon Feliciano for his pity pride when Feliciano: his life, his blood, and the only person he has left -really needed him. He must reunite with his brother and protect him..._

_..._

_**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**_

Lovino snapped his eyes open when he heard the ceaseless knocking on the door, as it was pushed open by a guard to let Antonio in. The door automatically locked behind him as he inched closer to Lovino's dresser to place down a series of ties, "Get up Lovi! You're late, and you still have to put on your suit, and pick out a tie! Wait-...", he paused for a moment before facing Lovino, "Were you sleeping aga-?!" Antonio's childish attitude fell when he studied Lovino's face expression. "Lovi?"

"Do you love me?" Lovino's weary stare was focused on the neighboring wall beside him. He was too ashamed to ask Antonio the question, but he had to ask to get a proper answer from him; he can't live like this. "Of course I love you Lovi, we have a bromance! Now let's hurry up and get you ready!" The Spaniard started fumbling with the ties, pulling out three of them for Lovino to try on. Lovino watched him pull out different colored ties that embodied the Spanish flag, "Antonio… Do you love me?" With this Lovino sat up and propped himself up, leaning on his pillow, "What if the dictator wanted me dead tomorrow? Would you kill me, or would you not? Would you mourn for me if anything was to happen to me?" Antonio's face fell as he hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about his response with his hands clasped together over his mouth, staring at the wooden paved ground, "This is dangerous. It is not right for you to think that way…" Antonio's brilliant green eyes ,that Lovino adored, saddened as he gained the courage to look at Lovino in his eyes, " You'll get yourself killed."

That was all Lovino needed. An answer; the right response to ease his mind. But Antonio's answer wasn't enough to erase his heart's burden. Furthermore, Lovino stood up to walk around his bed to stand shamefully in front of Antonio. Lovino looked down at his feet, just low enough for his bangs to cover his face, but he slowly rose his head up to properly look at Antonio, "You damn idiot! I am asking you do you love me…" Lovino forcefully leaned in, grasping Antonio's hands that were once buried in his face, letting Antonio see a side that only very few people get to see: his vulnerable side. Antonio stared at Lovino in shock, not knowing what to say next. Lovino's face fell as his humble grip began to loosen as he parted away from Antonio, "Forget what I said." He turned around to grab one of the decorative ties that rested upon his desk when suddenly a pair of broad arms hugged Lovino from his backside. The grip tightened as the male's head buried in Lovino's neck, "Wait, Lovino… Don't go. Not yet…"

Lovino felt Antonio's heartbeat quicken on his back as he felt the urge to turn around, "Antonio?"

"Don't look at me. Please… This is too embarrassing." Antonio nudged his face in Lovino's shoulder while shaking his head slightly of disapproval, "I am sorry I couldn't hold back my feelings... to protect you."

Silence cluttered the air. Lovino heart was beating too fast for his liking, but he felt excited. He snuggled his face in Antonio's arms, trying to hide his blushing face, "I-It's okay…", Lovino held Antonio's arms close to his chest, "I am at fault too."

….

As Lovino finished up the last adjustments to his suit, one thing wondered in his mind: he was a disgrace to his family. The heart wrenching feeling of knowing that Grandpa Roma wouldn't like him loving another male, killed him. The thought made him shiver… He loves the man that was assigned to kill him one day. Lovino straightened up his collar in his closet mirror before noticing two pink love bites that were made by Antonio, earlier,on his neck. Lovino gasped and quickly covered his markings with his collar. _**That damn idiot….**_

...

Everything was too compacted for Lovino's liking. Swarms of diverse people flooded the hall, constantly asking for drinks and food. Lovino and a few other dozen servants were forced to serve the the fifty to hundred war leaders throughout the world, while Antonio, the officials, and the dictator sat in the midst of the crowd ,chatting away about what seemed like politics. Antonio seemed like he was enjoying himself amongst the high-class people. Lovino watched from afar, observing Antonio's attire: his hair was slicked back, which was quite an unusual sight, and he had on a black tuxedo with a red bowtie. Lovino tilted his head off to the side to continue to watch him around to dozens of people that were in front of him. _Antonio looks… handsome..._

It was almost time for everyone to be seated for dinner, and that was the busiest time of the evening for the servers. It was hard enough to serve people while getting followed by a bunch of guards, yet no one realize the struggle of Lovino's hard work.

"So you wanted what again?" Lovino furrowed his brows together, forcing a smile to the large man, shivering. "Do you have any vodka? I want a bottle before we sit down to eat." It was that scary man that went "kolkolkol". His accent was thick and rich as he smiled right in front of Lovino, vexing him. Lovino gripped his notebook and pen closely to his chest, before writing down what the man asked for. Unnoticably he was watching Lovino write down a few notes concerning his order,"Hm, I see you're writing in Italian. Why is that?" This caught Lovino off guard, resulting for him to jump a little. He glared up to the man, before forcing out, "I am an Italian native… And you are-?"

"You don't need to know who I am. I work for The Greater Slavic Federation."

In other words, _Russia_. Grandpa Roma told him many stories about that place, stating that they are the nicest people that you could ever meet -until you piss them off. Lovino nodded and parted away from the Russian, making his way to the double doors inside the busy kitchen. People from left and right were on an ongoing rampage, trying to get their orders through.

"Dessert number nine! Dessert number nine!"

"Red wine! I need red wine!"

Lovino managed to reach the back of the kitchen, where the bar was located, after shoving his way to his destination. And like most of the stations to get the appetizers, there was a long line of people waiting for their order. Lovino glared at the long line of people, dragging his feet to go to the end of the line. Sighing, Lovino took out his notepad and utensil to draw to pass some time. It's been awhile since he drew something from the top of his head, so he took the opportunity to do so. He smiled as the tip of the ballpoint pen began to graze onto the sheet of paper. Most of the time when he drew something, he would picture what he would draw before doing anything, but this technique was less stressful. It was refreshing ... His eyes followed his hand's movements as he looked down upon his paper once more, taking in the complicated patterns that he made on the sheet.

His movement became quicker as his confidence skyrocketed when he knew exactly what else he should add to his picture. As his movement quicken he felt his pencil escape his grip , which resulted to him dropping his pen on the ground. _Damn it all_. He bent down and extended his hand outwards to grab the pen off of the floor, but unexpectedly his hand met with a paler one. Lovino looked up to meet with a non-Hispanic guard. Lovino observed the guard's actions as he grabbed the pen for him ,'_But why is he in the kitchen?'_ He took in the foreigner's features: green eyes, blonde hair that was greased upwards, and a single scar that was implanted above his brow. "Excuse me, is this yours?" The guard held the pen up, waiting for Lovino to grasp it. _His Spanish is good..._

Lovino broke the eye contact, and accepted the pen from him. "Yes, thank you." Lovino glanced back at him a few times before standing up again. The guard nodded and responded, "You're welcome.", as he brushed off his knees, and straightened up his uniformed black cloak that engraved the Spanish symbol. _And his accent was good too. _The Italian's curiosity grew, wanting to learn more about this man._"_Where are you from?" Lovino knew that he shouldn't start a conversation like this, but it wouldn't hurt.

The blonde hesitated a little bit before comfortably answering, "I was born in the Netherlands." He stopped and frowned in disappointment, " But now that's part of Germany." The man arched his brow as he narrowed his eyes on the picture that Lovino was creating, "Hm, you're just like your brother."

_Does he mean Feliciano?_

Lovino quickly backed away,bumping into someone behind him."Who are you-!?" Lovino hissed, stepping further away from the man in a combination of confusion, fear, and perhap a spark of excitement.

The green-eyed male place his index finger on his lips, before signaling Lovino to follow him. "For me to talk to you we have to lose those guards…" He placed his black mask on his face ,corrected his hair, and began to walk. Without question Lovino followed the man through the the bustling lines of people, finally reaching the basement door that was hidden under a few tomato crate boxes. The Dutchman pulled aside the heavy crates revealing the pull-up door. He pulled on the little latch to bring up the door, allowing the two to quickly go down the wooden ladder that was connected to the frame of the entrance. Each footstep echoed with a light 'thud' as they rapidly paced their way down the wooden steps.

When Lovino's feet landed on the cemented ground a cloud of dust brushed against his black dress shoes, covering it in a thin layer of tan powder. It was an abandon wine cellar, that carried thousands of generically high quality liquor. The room had just enough light to make most of the stuff in the room visible. The guard walked around the corner of one of the dozens of wine racks. He then turned around to face Lovino, realizing that he was left behind, standing beside the only exit and entrance in the basement area. A frown was paste on Lovino face as he prepared himself for the outcome that would come with following this man here."If you try to do anything to me, I will kick your ass." His hand gripped his pen as he inched closer to the man, biting his lip to hide his nervousness. Lovino didn't mind shanking him with his pen if it was necessary.

"I am not going to hurt you. Now in order for us to communicate properly, we must be very quiet…" the blonde started digging into his pocket.

Lovino gulped, and twisted the hazel ring that was on his right finger, "Who are you?"

The blonde boldly stated in a hush manner, "I am part of the Neutral Democracy. I worked under your grandfather, and now I am going to work under you when our people rescue you. My name is Lars Van Dike. You may call me Lars…" Lars pulled out his mobile device, to show Lovino the front screen. "We are going to rescue you in three more months. Since I've been working in the estate for three years as an observing spy, I was able to record and transfer out documents to the Neutral Democracy to get you out."

Lovino took everything in, but his eyes flickered towards Lars, not accepting any of what he was saying, "And how do I know that you're not lying?"

"This will answer all of your questions…" Lars faced the mobile to Lovino as he clicked on contacts,opening up the audio message for him. "Keep your voice down please…"

Lovino was confused, "What do you mean-?"

"_Ve~!" _

His heart skipped a beat, as he felt his eyes start to water. That voice sounded familiar… almost like-

"_Fratello! I miss you so much!"_

"F-Feliciano?" Lovino clasped his hand over his mouth as he eagerly fought back the ceaseless tears that fell on the floor, "M-My fratello!" He hasn't heard the Italian language from anyone beside himself; he practiced his Italian every night so that he wouldn't forget his native tongue…

"_I am doing fine, and you'll do fine too. Miss Laura's big brother, Lars, is going to guide you. Our people are coming to get you this week, by the you get this. I-I can't wait to… Darn now I'm crying… I love you Fratello. Be safe. Ciao!"_

Lovino needed that... Feliciano gave him strength, and he gave Lovino something that he hasn't been receiving for a long time: love. Lovino bit his upper lip, wiping his tears from his face, "Thanks… Please, tell me more of the plan. Why are you waiting for three months?-"

_**Click**_.

"Don't move or I will shoot." A bud of cool metal rested on Lars's neck as a shadowy figure stood behind him and the wine rack. Lovino stomach twisted in so many directions; his only chance of freedom was about to be killed. That means he won't be able to see Feliciano, or having to worry about if he was going to get killed the next day. "Raise your hands in the air and stay still." The shadowy figure advanced around the rack to step in front of both Lovino and Lars with his gun raised at a ninety degree angle. Similarity, the armed man had on a mask that looked indistinguishable to Lar's black one. "Who are you? Take off your mask and confess your motives with the Hit Listee."

_Don't do it. _Lovino softly mouthed 'no' and he shook his head to Lars. _If he takes off the mask he will be a goner._

The estate guard walked closer to Lovino, making it easier for Lovino to see the guard up close: black tuxedo and red bowtie. _It was Antonio_. Antonio's back faced Lovino, waiting for any response from Lars,"Anything you say will be used against you, so you better think before speak."Lars steadily lowered his hands to grab the latch of his mask to take it off.

Antonio's eyes followed every movement until Lars unexpectedly pulled out a knife from his sleeve pocket. The Spaniard pulled Lovino close to him by the waist to run to the adjacent side of the room, and sat Lovino on the floor besides the ladder, to go back in the kitchen. "Lovino I am going to call back up after I handle him-"

Lovino gripped Antonio's hand before he ran off to hunt down Lars, "Idiot! Calm down! Let him explain himself before you go all out to shoot someone!" Antonio watched Lovino stand up with disappointment. He was quite use to Lovino cursing him out and getting angry at him, but not disappointed. Antonio reached for his pocket to get his extra ammunition ready before walking back to the pillars of wine carts.

"Antonio! Wait the hell up!" Lovino took hold of Antonio's sleeve to slow Antonio down, " You're not going to kill him, aren't you?!"

The green eyed man shook his head, "No I am not planning to. If I do shoot then imagine what the people would think if they hear a gunshot below them." Lovino sighed and let go of his grip on Antonio, and let the man carry on, holding his gun upwards, with his finger on the trigger -ready to shoot. Moreover, everything was unexpectedly quiet, which made Antonio extremely alert of his surroundings. He passed the first two wine columns and saw nothing, besides the old dusty countertops that was sitting at the end of the rows of expensive wines. Constant tapping was heard behind him, but Antonio made sure that he didn't act like he suspected anything so that the person behind him would continue following him. Antonio glanced towards the side to view the shadow that was following him, but then soon to realize the shadow was a lot smaller than the blonde.

Antonio frowned and then turned around, stopping Lovino dead in his tracks. It was clear that the Spanish man towered the Italian man by a few inches, but Lovino is the type of person that doesn't want to feel like he is not a person's equal. "Go back, I can handle this Lovino," Antonio whispered, and looked around them. Lovino rolled his eyes and continue following him, trying his best gain Antonio's attention, but Antonio motioned further on, leaving him behind. A metamorphic arrow shot Lovino in the heart as his patience finally snapped, "The Hell you can't! Just let me explain before you go straight to the conclusions." Antonio covered Lovino's mouth and backed them both behind one of the columns, "He's here", Antonio whispered.

Lars came into view as he walked around one of the wine pillars towards Antonio and Lovino. He looked rather calm. The air became heavy as Antonio turned Lovino around to grab his other gun , that was hiding in his coat pocket, to give to the inexperienced Italian. Antonio quickly pulled his gun out waiting for Lars to act ,but to his surprise nothing happened. He just stood there, waiting for Antonio to calm down. Realizing that it was okay for him to proceed, Lars kept his hands up and inched closer to them,"It's amazing that you can trust the Hit Listee with a weapon ."

"Lovino, stay behind me." Antonio said in a low voice. He raised a hand up in front of Lovino, blocking him from any escape.

Lovino look ahead and quickly ran around Antonio, barely avoiding Antonio's oncoming hand, "Lovino, what are you doi-?"

"Would you like to know? Let us explain..." Lovino turned around giving Antonio an affirming hand that was waiting to be accepted. Antonio understood the consequences of doing this, and he knew that the outcome of this might not be pretty on both side, but he knows that he can trust Lovino. That is what pity love can do for you. It can save you or kill you, and even making you want to forget the whole concept of it. He let out his hand and let it rest on Lovino's palm before looking up at the fidgety boy. "I would like to know."

…

"Three months, huh…" Antonio crossed his arms and tried to take everything in before any questioning developed. He furrowed his brows and thought silently to himself. If he helps them, and if they were to get caught he would be the person to kill both of them. But if they do manage to make it out, he would be assigned to follow them out of country and take them out. Either way Lovino and his destiny will intertwine with each other until one of them is gone. Antonio's black polished dress shoes danced delicately on the ground before finally confronting Lars with his gun hidden in his back pocket. "Your reasoning sounds legit, but how do I know you are not lying ? I need to see your identification card and face before we proceed with anything."

"Fine, but not if you don't take off your mask afterwards, so I could see who I am working with." Lars lowered his hands, reaching out for a handshake. Antonio looked down at Lars's single hand, and sighed pushing it away, "That won't be needed. Just take off the mask." Instantaneously Lars risen his hand to uncollapse the latch, letting the mask dangle around his neck. With this, Antonio eyes widen through his mask as he identified the man without batting an eye, "Lars Van Dike…"

Lars was taken back when Antonio identified him so suddenly, "Yes, and you are?"

Antonio loosened his mask, revealing himself to Lars, "You should know who I am…" His green eyes flickered over his mask, causing Lovino to gulp with unease.

Lars coldly responded back, "How could I forget you; you are _Antonio __Carriedo Fernandez: _the man that killed my brother." Lovino insides twisted in a disorderly fashion, as he recalled the words '_**the man that killed my brother'**_. The little signs of affection that Lovino believed that Antonio showed for everyone soon disappeared. Antonio there, hands clasped on his mask. Lovino watched the burning candle light shine on Antonio's broad shoulders. Colors of orange and tinted red created a halo around Antonio's body. He looked like an angel, but that was besides the point. Lovino was waiting for Antonio to say something of the following words of "I'm sorry", yet Lovino knew that in the back in his mind he was certain that Antonio would never say it. This was a side that Lovino has yet to see. The person that he claimed to love, for him to kill a person with an expression like that ,was horrid. In general, he took the opportunity to examine Lars's reaction: it was nothing. He too, had the same furrowed frown like Antonio. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Antonio was qualified to become a Hit Man. Showing emotion to the person that you were assigned to kill would make it harder for the Hit Man. Lovino stopped and realized what he said."We are talking about Lovino right now, so let's put aside the family grudge and focus on getting Lovino out of here", Antonio retorted. He placed his hands on his hips, giving Lars an assuring nod for him to continue with their scheduled meetups.

_How could Antonio respond like this?_ Looking at Lars, Lovino observated his facial expression again, and like Antonio he showed little to no expression when he received Antonio's response. _How could they act like nothing is going on?_ Lovino watched from afar as the two came up with a decent non suspicious schedule of small get togethers to make sure the plan of Lovino's escape was certain._I don't get them..._

…

The fork pierced the steamed chopped carrots that sat beside the baked fish and white rice. It continued to play with the food, either mashing the fish or stacking the carrot slices. The fork would rarely reach Lovino's lips to consume any food…

"Lovino!"

"Huh?" Lovino dropped his fork on the plate as he finally snapped into reality. He looked around and found Antonio standing in the kitchen. The officials assigned Lovino and Antonio to live in one of the estate apartments while construction was present on Lovino's old room. Stirring the last bit of soup, Antonio got a ladle to spoon it out, "I was asking do you want the last bit of soup?" Blinkingly, Lovino shook his head, "I'm not up for anything… sorry." Smiling at Lovino, Antonio nodded, pouring the chicken noodle soup in a small bowl, "Well more for me!"

For the last two months and a half, life had been very stressful for Lovino. The workload tage at the crops had been overwhelming because the majority of this year's crops died off due to the unexpected lack of rain. Also he has been constantly worrying about the planned escape, and constantly worrying about the possibility of getting Antonio and himself emotionally hurt when all is said and done. "I am retiring early tonight…" Lovino scooted his chair back, grabbed his plate, and cleaned off his area with the wet rag Antonio thrown across the kitchen countertop. He placed his dish in the sink while Antonio prepares himself for his nightly kiss, but received nothing but a pat on the back as Lovino passed him. Placing the hot bowl of soup down, Antonio tried his best to stop Lovino from leaving, "Wait- tonight is your night to do the dishes!"

"Why don't you do them!" The Italian threw the rag in Antonio's face and shut the bathroom door, leaving Antonio all by himself, " Ah! Okay, I will clean up tonight! Get some rest!" Lovino rested his ear on the simple white door, listening to Antonio's cheerful and encouraging sentence. Antonio was too nice sometimes. Lovino knew what he did out there was mean, but Antonio smiled and showed him kindness. He pushed his leaning body off the door to pace on the marble flooring before stopping in front of the sink to look into the mirror. He is prepared to leave Spain, and there is no doubt about it. But he doesn't know if he was prepared to leave Antonio, or forget about his past so easily as most people are capable of. Lovino's hand touched his left cheek... Eyes, nose, face were the same. His mind and actions were the same. But his heart had changed drastically compared to the last four years, and he was the one to blame. If only if he would've kept down his impulsive actions to escape, Agalia would be alive today; if only if he would've listened to grandpa to escape with his officials, on the day of the collapse of the Vargas Estate, he and Feliciano would've never experienced the encounterment with the Germans, nor their separation... Happiness will never be restored in his heart if he brings Antonio, so he has to force himself to move on. Lord knows he doesn't want to forget him; he was the reason Lovino didn't give up life during his stay. But Antonio is devoted to his country, not to him...

Lovino twisted the knob to run the hot water in the bathtub, pulled the lever up on the base of the tub floor to let the water accumulate, and sat on the edge of the bathtub curve, staring at the ongoing falling water.

It's his fault. He should've kept his emotional wall up, believing that his love for Antonio was only one sided. Because he allowed himself to let Antonio into his heart with open arms, he will be the person leaving with the most pain. He became too damn dependent on the bastard that it'll be harder for him to forget the tomato bastard. Once Lovino saw that the water was high enough, he began to unbutton his shirt and take off his underclothes. He stepped inside the tub and felt the soap suds surround his legs as he slowly squatted down to get use to the high temperature of water. Tilting his head up, his thoughts wandered as his neck rested on the edge. _Was it really all my fault? Am I the person to blame for the death of Agalia? What if we get caught? Will Antonio get hurt? If so, will that be my fault? _

Lovino's heartbeat speeded up as his body went into panic mode. **Yes, it is his fault. Yes it was... **His breathing hitched as he gripped the side of the shower curtains, yanking them down with the pole that kept them up. He didn't know what to do; how to keep these thoughts out of his mind. He needs someone, anybody to comfort him and hold him close: _Antonio_. Lovino mouthed his name but nothing came out. He was scared; scared of life. Of the approvals and disapprovals that came with his problems from family, friends, and most of all Antonio. He doesn't want Antonio to see him like this, so broke down and discarded of himself. The feeling of guilt and doubt is too overwhelming for Lovino to bare, but he knew that it wasn't anyone's problem but his. His arms wrapped around his body as his cried sorrowful to himself and prayed that he would become sane enough to meet Feliciano again. Multiple teardrops fell into the water in front of him, creating little ripples around him. Whimpers and the echoing sound of water was the only thing to soothe him...

A pair of clothed arms hugged him from behind as he felt someone's head bury its face in Lovino's shoulder, "Just talk to me... I can't stand watching you go through this alone." It was Antonio. He was bent down outside of the tub, holding Lovino from behind. The shame that Lovino was experiencing was tremendous... He had told Antonio so many times before that he doesn't need his help at all because if he continues to always aid him when he is in trouble, life would become so much harder for him, "G-Get away bastard!" Lovino voice was a few volumes quieter and was horsed due to his crying, "This is not your problem! It's mine!" Lovino tried his best to get away from Antonio's tight grip, but this made Antonio more determine to hold on. If Antonio was to let go of him now, he would be giving up on Lovino, "I am more involved than you think! When I told you that I loved you, and even before that, I was involved!" Lovino's hands gradually fell to his side, right into the water. He turned around to look over his shoulder to see Antonio with his head down in defeat. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me. I want you to depend on me when you are in trouble", Antonio confessed.

"No. I want you to seek for me when you're in trouble. I-I know I can't do that much, but I want you think of me as your equal. So don't look down upon me." Lovino's eyes glanced towards Antonio, waiting for Antonio's retort about his bold statement. The wild hair man lift his head up in response, smiling, " I thought I was the one that dependant on you too much."

The old forgotten feeling of warmth filled Lovino's heart as his worries no longer burden him_. Love. _That was what he was missing, love. He flung his arms around Antonio's neck, "Idiot..." As his weary body leaned on Antonio for support, Antonio hugged him back and nodded, "Yes, I know Tomaté. I'm an idiot."

...

An unknown guitar melody played in the tinted room. The beat was a little off , but progressively became better the longer Antonio played. His low voice hummed bits and parts of the song. Lovino's head laid on Antonio's crossed lap, as his body lied on the bed with Antonio , and listened to the light and slow strums of the flower decorated guitar, "Antonio... what song is that?" Antonio continued to play while he answered, " I don't know. This was the song that Agalia would sing and dance to. I think it's an old song that was popular seventy years ago...They had great music back then, unlike now..." He set down the instrument beside his nightstand and turned the light off, "Let's go to sleep-."

"Wait!" Lovino's hand grabbed Antonio's arm, "You should sing it. I am quite unfamiliar to this type of music." Arching his brow, Antonio was surprised that Lovino liked his playing. Antonio gave Lovino a sheepish smile," It's kind of embarrassing you know. Plus it has been awhile since I've sung to anyone..." Lovino shook his head and looked away, embarrassed, "Forget what I said!" Pulling the covers up over his head, he faced the other way, pretending that he was asleep. Lovino felt the bed shift, which only meant that Antonio went to sleep. He bit his lip and mentally cursed himself in disappointment. He really did wanted to listen to Antonio sing that tune that he grew to love.

"Come here Tomaté. Do you want to hear the song?"

Lovino peaked under his sheets to find Antonio facing his way. Internally he is excited and fist pumping right now, but that's not his character. So instead of saying "Sure!" or "That would be lovely", it came out like this, "I really don't care you tomato bastardo! Sing it quickly so I can sleep!" Darn, he didn't mean it that way. Lovino hid his face in his hands and balled up in the covers to hide his blushing face from Antonio. Unexpectedly the covers flung away from Lovino's top half as Antonio caved in on the Italian and hugged his waist. The contact was too close for Lovino's liking, but he didn't fight back. He nuzzled his body close to Antonio's as he began to sing,

_Tu Sonrisa  
Tu Carita  
Tu Forma De Ser  
Precio No Tiene  
Y Es Amor  
Yo Lo Se  
Nada Vale Mas Que Un Beso Fiel-_

The song was slow and steady, and Antonio's voice was beautiful -the opposite of his. The circular head rubs made everything so relaxing for Lovino. Occasional pecks on the cheek, forehead, and lips took away the tension amongst them as hands began to wander on one another's body. As their kisses deepened, Antonio rolled Lovino under him, placing his weight on his elbows so he wouldn't squash Lovino. The air began to feel muggy, and beads of sweat started to form on Lovino's brow as Antonio bit softly on his collar. Antonio's hands tugged the thin fabric of Lovino's shirt, silently pleading for Lovino's assistance to take the shirt off. Once Lovino's toned chest was finally exposed to Antonio, the cool air sent a cold shiver down Lovino's back as he stared longingly at Antonio. Lovino's nonsteady harmonious breathing, pants, and moans grew louder and louder as Antonio's hands explored the forbidden untouched lower regions.

Never in Lovino's wildest dreams has he envisioned himself with Antonio, let alone any man. Curling his toes and tightening his hold on Antonio, he felt the Spanish man loosen his pants. Lovino trembled with excitement as he began to feel faint. "Antonio!" He gasped when he felt Antonio's hand brush against him inside his trousers, playing with its tip in a circular motion. Lovino covered his mouth to hide his oncoming embarrassing moan as Antonio continued to experiment his body's sensitivity of touch.

Antonio stared yearningly at the quivering boy below him as he felt himself start to throb. His fingers lapsed around the edge of Lovino's trouser. His heart was about to burst, he couldn't hold back any longer. He looked into Lovino's honey colored eyes, and waited for his approval. A lump formed in Lovino's throat as he turned his head away to hide his blush, "Keep going…", he said in a hush voice. Without batting an eye, Antonio pulled down the material without rush, and felt the pool of increasing excitement flourish in his heart. Lovino felt exposed to the man. His undergarment dangled on his knees as he felt Antonio massage the innermost part of his thighs. His breathing was slow and under controlled; he was afraid of doing anything weird that would make Antonio stop. Something wet and warm caressed his chest to his toned stomach, making Lovino gasped in shock and delight. This feels so different, so forbidden, yet so amazing for the both of them. Antonio's tongue went lower and lower until stopping to his lower abdomen. Antonio watched Lovino lay on his back, panting, and stare at him back. Taking his sleep bottoms off, Antonio stared at his arousal and back to Lovino. The Spaniard leaned down and hugged Lovino as he timidly kissed him on his jaw and neck. Lovino wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed back, allowing entrance for Antonio's tongue to roam freely in his mouth. Slowly but surely, Lovino's legs began to part as Antonio began to softly grind against Lovino's inner thigh,"Lovino!" That name slipped out of his mouth occasionally, in either a soft grunt or pant. Antonio's body rubbed on Lovino's , making harder to hold himself back from taking Lovino right then and there. Antonio sat up and pulled Lovino's olive legs apart and over his shoulders, placing his arousal on the entrance of Lovino. He twitched with overflowing excitement. _He was ready for this._ Looking away from Lovino's entrance, Antonio observated Lovino's expression. _But were you Lovino?_

Lovino hazily glance up from the counter of his eye. Undoubtedly something was going on in the back of Antonio's head which made him stop. Lovino's hands slid off of Antonio's moist muscular back, making him fall on his back confused and exhausted, "Antonio?" A kiss was planted on the corner of Lovino's lip before saying, "I went too far. I'm sorry..." Parting became harder for Lovino since he was already aroused, but he too knew that he was pushing himself. He watched Antonio in the darkness slide off the bed, getting the shirt that was long forgotten just moments ago to cover himself, and got a towel from the shelves. "Lovino, I am going to sleep in the living room tonight", he said while rushing to get an extra pair of night wear. Avoiding Lovino's eye contact, Antonio turned his head the other way and slammered on his words,"I-I ...".

"See you tomorrow", Lovino finished. He sat up and pulled the covers over his head, listening to Antonio's hurried foot steps exit out of the room and into the the bathroom, followed by the sound of running water to the activation of the shower. That damn idiot... An unpleasant sensation has built up in Lovino's lower region, as he felt the urge to fix his problem. His body twitched due to the unexpected shock of pleasure that course through his veins as he muffled his cries in Antonio's pillow. This was embarrassing. What will Feliciano think; no, what will grandpa think? "_I will always be watching you," _that was what Grandpa Roma said. Oh God. If grandpa's statement was really true, he can't even imagine grandpa's reaction of him being aroused_ by a guy._ His pace quickened as he brushed the tip like how Antonio did earlier; his mind and body entered a world that limited all outside interruptions. _That damn idiot..._ A name escaped his lips. The name was -"Antonio?!"

Yes it was he, standing there in shock, never acknowledging his presence to Lovino. Lovino's heart dropped while his eyes widen with discomfort ; self-consciousness developed when he became aware of the current position he was in.

...

"And after that, I want you guys to follow this schedule to confuse the officials", Lars finished off the map of meetups that Lovino and Antonio had to follow. Antonio rested his face on the palm of his hand as he listened to most of Lars's plan concerning with gathering information for the escape. The three of them would normally meet up in old abandoned shacks near or located at the farming area that Lovino worked at. Lars paced around the small room as he steadily fully explained what was needed to know, "Did you get everything?" Antonio gestured his head, alongside with Lars. The green eyed man looked towards Lovino's direction, and began to pack up, "Did you get everything Lovino?"

"Huh?" Lovino rubbed his tired eyes and gave him a thumbs up, "Uh- yeah. I got it."

Lars shook his head, shoved the documents in Antonio's lap, and placed his mask on his face, "Explain today's meeting to Lovino in full detail when you arrive back to the estate", he stopped when he reached the door, "Antonio, I would like to talk to you in private please." Antonio got up from his seat, and packed the manuscripts that he was provided, in his briefcase, "I'm coming."

Most shacks, like this one, were surrounded by the forest making it complicated to to find ,and leave it without getting lost. Lars had specially done his research so that it wouldn't interfere in neither of their work hours. Antonio stepped onto the grass land on the front lawn, and founded Lars waiting for him there, back turned. He walked closer to Lars, bringing his hand up to tap him on his shoulder, "Hey, you called m-?" Suddenly he got pinned down by Lars with his handgun dug in Antonio's throat, "I can't believe you would do that to Lovino!" Lars harshly whispered. It was rare for Lars to show his anger like this, for it is important to hide any emotion while on a mission as important like his. He slammed Antonio's head on the ground, leaning in to continue his complaint, "Those marks…"

Antonio said nothing, but stared at him with dignity. " What about them."

"Stop fucking with me! I already know that you were the one that made those markings. I can tell by the way you look at him; it's disgusting! He isn't of legal age to be fucking around with you!" Lars shoved Antonio towards a nearby tree and pointed his gun straight at his head. Antonio leaned his back against that tree and prompted himself on it waiting for Lars to bail out, "You can't kill me Lars. If you do, Lovino's escape plan will go down the drain."

"Shut up. I will if I had to", Lars towered Antonio and glared over his gun, "I will not have the future of Italy toy around with a man whore."

Antonio looked away and smirked,"Go ahead. Pull the trigger. It's not like you are going to do it!"

Lars lowered the gun and sighed,"You're right, I won't. But I made a promise to his younger brother that Lovino will arrive back home untainted. Both mentally and physically", he walked closer to Antonio pulling him up by his collar, "But for a warning ,I am going to kick your ass." A force took Antonio as he blocked the ongoing blows from Lars. Antonio managed to flip Lars under him, and when the opportunity came he punched Lars's blind spot; he was not going to miss his chance beat the hell out of him. Antonio uppercut him on the chin and pinned his head deep in the soil, "I am tired of you thinking so lowly of me Lars!" Lars's boot met with Antonio's stomach; the impact was intense. This gave Lars enough time to go on top of Antonio, "You were my apprentice! Why the hell should I give you the recognition that you've never deserved!" Lars's hands squeezed and interlocked his fingers deep in Antonio's throat. Antonio muffled out his groans of pain by biting his lip as his held Lars's arm, forcing it away, to alleviate some of the pressure, but Lars wasn't over yet. He yanked Antonio up by the throat and slammed him on the neighboring tree, "You call yourself a Hit Man!? You shouldn't always depend on your weaponry. Especially in situations like these." He twisted his body back, unleashing all of his strength in his fist to punch Antonio's lower jaw, followed by a crack on Antonio's left cheek. Lars's grip around Antonio's loosened jacket, "Do you call yourself a man?! It's disappointing that you've tried to have your way with Lovino. "

Antonio fell on his knees in despair; he was frustrated. His pride was just crippled by the man he once called friend. His fingertips brushed against his jawline, feeling the displacement of his bone constantly moving out of place. The taste of iron filled his mouth and nostrils, blinding his sense of smell, "Shut up! I am more of a man that you'll ever be! I am not the same boy like before. The boy that was afraid of everything; the boy that was taught to keep quiet and not voice out his true opinions! The boy that followed you like your lap dog!" But all too soon, Lars dug his foot straight into the Spanish man's lower stomach. Antonio eyes widen when he felt his stomach bubble up. He clenched his lower abdomen as his stomachache grew to a sickening feeling .

"The effects are kicking in. I guess I kick you too hard." The blonde torn his eyes away from Antonio to the frightened boy that was standing behind the wooden pillar on the porch.

"What the Hell are is going on here?!" Lovino tripped over the first step but manage to keep his footing when he started to run to Antonio's side. He got on his knees and hovered his hands over Antonio's injured body, not wanting to hurt him. Antonio kept his head down low, trying to hide his despicable face from Lovino, "Don't look at me Lovino. Go back inside and wait ther-", he stopped when he felt his throat become full with liquids. The feeling disgusted him as he turned away from Lovino to throw up the little food that he had consumed that day. In his in between breaths, he choked and coughed because of the lack of air he received. His breathing quickened when everything was out his system. Lovino stared in disbelief and in horror at Antonio's condition. A mixture of blood and vomit was visible to see on the once green grass. The birds chirped and the sun surrounded them with morning glory. Nature seemed to carry on with life, and so did Lars,"He's fine, I will clean him up at the stream", Lars journeyed back to the shack, and took off his uncleansed glove. Lovino cursed under his breath and looked down and back up at Lars,"Where the hell are you going?! I demand an explanation-!" He placed his hand on Antonio's back, clearly inexperienced with injuries like this, "Let me help you bastard." Antonio shook his head, "That won't be necessary Lovino."

"Antonio, stop giving me crap! Tell me what is going on with you two."

Antonio grabbed any available object to pull himself up. His hands met with the side of the rough dark tree he was currently under. He stumbled as he tried to support his weight on it, avoiding the irritated looks he was getting from Lovino. Lovino watched the man stubbornly forced himself up, rejecting his help. "I am fine, Lovino. Just don't worry about it", Antonio said under his breath, "There is some things that aren't worth explaining."

Lovino's trembling hands backed away from Antonio's body, "If you depend on me, tell me bastardo. It's worse to keep secrets and go through this alone", Lovino lowered his eyes to glaze upon Antonio. For months, he has been wondering what type of relationship Antonio and Lars had with each other. It's confusing to tell what they are thinking when the two are together. They show signs of hatred, but they aid one another when they are in distress.

Antonio was still; he was silent;he didn't know how to respond without changing Lovino's love for him; he was afraid... If he were to tell Lovino about his past ties with Lars, Lovino would never view him the same. He expeditiously attempted to rise his head up, "Perhaps later on. I will tell you, but please give me time." Lovino stood there motionless._ Some things aren't worth explaining. _He guess it's fair. Lovino hasn't told Antonio anything about his family, so why should he force Antonio to tell him about his past, "I understand." He doesn't want to disrespect Antonio's privacy. Yet, he knew that Antonio's confession day will never come.

With Lars's help, Lovino was able to bring Antonio to the clear blue stream that reflected the sun's morning glow. Lars helped Antonio take off his shirt while giving him words of encouragement to fight through the pain.

_I don't get them... _

Lars provided Lovino a damp rag to start washing his back as Lars took out his portable first aid kit.

_I really don't get them..._

Something cool and wet contacted Lovino's face. It surprisingly felt refreshing. Lovino wiped his face off and looked down at Antonio, the source of water hitting his face. Antonio looked away and started whistling that tune from the other night, like he didn't do it. Lovino snorted,"What the hell was that for?!"Lars looked on with annoyance as he continued scrubbing Antonio's back, but a little harder to the point of discomfort for the Spaniard, "Hey Lars, I think it's nice that you are cleaning off my back and all, but may you do it softer?"

"No", Lars barked.

Antonio hung his head in defeat, "Maybe Lovino should-"

"No."

Lovino turned to the two men's direction, "I really don't care." He grabbed Lars's case that was leaning on a ragged rock beside him and began digging his hand in it.

"I suggest taking your hand out of that bag before you get hurt", Lars snatched it away from Lovino, and opened it from afar at the right angle so that Lovino could see what was inside. Knives of all kinds were neatly aligned, dozens of bullet cases were in the center, and an old 2020 buildable rifle was tucked at the bottom of the brief case. "Now I don't want you to get cut by these. If you truly want to look through my stuff, ask me and I will show you with safe precaution", Lars closed the bag and told Antonio to turn to his side to get better access to his arms, "And no, you are not going to wash Antonio."

Antonio's face soured up like a child who got his candy taken away. Lovino has never seen Antonio act like this at all. At first glance Antonio appears to be immature. But... he is just a sweet normal man with strong beliefs that could sometimes get him killed. It ached Lovino that Antonio is keeping his past locked up away for him. This just makes Lovino want to learn more about him. It was humid outside and Lovino's clothes started to clamp onto his skin. His bare feet was already dangling in the the water beside Antonio, but that wasn't enough. Lovino began to pull up his shirt over his head, sighing in relief of how much cooler it was. Lars was explaining the plan again to Lovino,and finishing up the appliances on Antonio's injuries when he noticed what Lovino did, "Put your shirt back on. What is up with Italians taking their clothes off?" Lovino scolded and contemplatively gaze behind Lars's shoulder and brought his plain white t-shirt over his head and corrected his straw hat. He groan in misery, and stared at his reflection in the water. Not knowing the ramification of his words Lovino finally asked,"What relationship do you two have?"

Lars stopped and Antonio turned around just enough to see Lovino's blur at the corner of his eye. "Lovino, I told you. Not right n-."

"No-", Lar interrupted Antonio, which was uncommon for him to do especially with Antonio and Lovino. Antonio scooted away from Lars and push his shoulder back with effort, "You can't be serious Lars", Antonio whispered to Lars. The blonde brushed his shoulder off and shook his head," If he wants to know than I will tell him. He has to know someday if he is going to become my boss in the future." Antonio buried his hand in his face as he wiped the condensation off his brow and sighed. Lovino scrutinized in revelation at the moment that Antonio concealed his face elsewhere. His soul deflated when he saw Antonio like this, but he reserved his emotions and awaited for Lars to tell him the truth. What was the impact on their life that made them hate, but show brotherly affection towards each other? Why did Antonio want to hide this from him? This cold feeling of fear and doubt flooded his heart. Does he really want to know? Lovino shut his eyes tightly together and furrowed his brows with an exhale, "Don't tell me. I changed my mind. I don't want to know…" _ Some things aren't worth explaining. _He was petrified to know the truth behind Lars and Antonio; he loved Antonio and he thinks of Lars as his cool overprotective older brother. Some things shouldn't be mentioned until everyone is fully prepared for the end result. He unhurriedly peeled his eyes open and looked up to see Lars and a stun Antonio, sitting on the edge of the stream bed. For the first time in a while, Lovino gave a sincere smile, "Some things aren't worth explaining."

…

Antonio's heart beat was something that Lovino cherished , but it's not like he was going to tell Antonio that; that is his secret. He was careful to lay his head just on the a small portion on Antonio's chest, since the soreness of getting his ass kicked by Lars hasn't ceased. Antonio stretched out his arms and legs and commenced to getting out of the bed. Lovino's head ascended with Antonio's rising body before they separated. Today was Spain's independence day. Music was heard outside their window, and crowds of people flooded the streets of the capital city of Madrid. Antonio hid his sadness behind a smile, and looked outside the window from their bedroom, surprisingly not excited for the celebration. And he had a reason to be depressed. Tonight at nine, if Lars's plan go through, Lovino's people is going to break in the estate and save him. Remembering the words Lars told him, "Make sure Lovino is wearing this at all times…" , Antonio's hand tightened its grip on the watch , that was in his pocket, "This will help us locate him at a quicker rate. Bring him with you outside at nine, and if anyone questions you, tell them that the fireworks are starting at nine, and that the best seats are at the South Estate. That is where we will meet up with you. I'll be out there 30 minutes before hand to issue you more updated news."

Sighing, he placed his fingers on the bottom latch of the window to bring it up, allowing the warm Spanish breeze to play with his hair as he inhaled the fresh scent of frittatas, a Spanish breakfast cuisine, that was carried in the wind. Lovino got out of the bed and followed Antonio to the window, inclining his body to rest on his elbows, looking out in the sky. He will miss the brilliant gold and orange hues that bled like fire in the east - over the rivers and beyond the glorious capital city of Spain. A golden hue kissed Antonio's moderately olive complexioned skin, creating a radiant aureole that complemented his good looks. Lovino's thoughts were suspended when Antonio opened his mouth to begin talking, "Do you know the history of our independence day?" his eyes never left the scenery.

Lovino shook his head, looked away from Antonio, and back out on the overlapping hill tops, "Not to a certain extent…"

Antonio nodded acknowledging, and began, "About sixty years ago The Kingdom of Spain was put in the situation in which they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy. Their harvest ,that supplied more than half of their people, wasn't as plentiful as it should've been. Unlike before we have developed the technology of advance cropping, so even if our crops fail, we'll be able to make our own food."

Lovino frowned and gave Antonio a scandalized look, "So you grow fake food over here?"

"Yes, but that is besides the point", Antonio playfully patted Lovino on the head and went back on topic, "Our harvest is a main source of our survival in Spain… It issues trading stocks around the country- give us jobs. But for the crops to die, we die.", he paused to look away from Lovino, "People starved to death, and crime rates went sky-rocket; The Kingdom of Spain's economy was getting corrupted by its own people until…"

"Until what?" Lovino has never heard about this side of the Spanish independence. The only information that was in his Italian school books ,that Antonio mentioned, was the fact that they were experiencing financial problems, and that was where the page stopped. At the time, Lovino wasn't so worried about the Spaniards, but now, he sense the feeling that Italy has been keeping him locked in a country barrier; not knowing what was out there, but only knowing what was given to him to learn.

"Until we got our first dictator. He lead the economy out of debt and showed them that everyone had a chance of living a life without the fear of getting mugged. Everyone was thrilled, but no one questioned where did the government get the money", Antonio stated.

Lovino made an educated guess, based off of his common knowledge of the government, "Did they get the money through taxing the people, or perhaps other countries?"

"No. That is the reasonable answer, but I am afraid you are incorrect", Antonio trailed his eyes elsewhere to an open field near a stream, "They get their money from selling their herbs to an under the table drug market for experimenting people."

Experimenting on people? What was Antonio talking about? Why was he telling Lovino something so sick and cruel? Lovino's glare for Antonio contained both disgust and agony,"Antonio, what the hell are you talking about? Are you joking around? This shit isn't funny!"

Antonio continued in the hopes that Lovino would understand, "An unstoppable army. That is what all dictatorship countries want. It is another factor that keeps them in power of their money. But in order to do that, they must obtain a strong military force. A Hit Man is the only person ,besides the head officials and dictator himself, in the government that doesn't have to go through the surgical practice of becoming the 'proper' soldier. But it's quite common for dictators to force their Hit Man through this process."

Lovino stood up straight and observed Antonio, hoping that there was a sign of dishonesty. He sighed and rubbed his right temple, "Why are you telling me this?"

Turning around to lean on the frame of the window, Antonio explained, "For two reasons. The first reason is that you must know all this if you want to lead your people, and save mine's from this jacked up system. The people of Spain don't know how bad their leaders are; our leaders are too fed up with themselves in fulfilling their prideful decrees. Plus you seem very important for them to come all the way from Italy to save you", he crossed his arms and smiled to himself before turning his head to face Lovino's, "Secondly, there is a high chance that I won't be able to talk to you like this in awhile, so might as well make our last private conversation worth while."

"Is it-", Lovino halted himself from speaking. He forbiddens himself to even ask the one question that was lingering in his mind. But because of his impetuous head strong action he asked anyway, " Is it possible that your mother is planning on making you into a 'proper' soldier?" Lovino turned his body in Antonio's direction and looked down at his feet, worrying about Antonio's answer.

Antonio ran his hand through his hair frustratedly, "Yeah. The side effects of going through that process consist of memory lost. They are practically going to go through my brain and remove my memories with the ones they choose fit", Antonio looked up and realized the tension that he was causing. He quickly smiled and hugged Lovino cheerfully, "But that will be a long time after you've left, so you'll be safe Tomaté~!" Lovino didn't hug back but backed away and shook his head, "Antonio, how can you be so damn happy all the time when you know that you aren't going to be safe?!" Tears began to form in his eyes as he pivots his head to the sun rise, away from Antonio.

"Come on Lovino!" Antonio pushed Lovino away from his grasped to get a proper view of Lovino. He smiled wide, letting his dimples reveal itself to Lovino ," Don't be depressed. Today you will be able to escape and see your bro in no time. So stop crying, you look ugly when you cry." Lovino was confused whether he should take that as a complement or curse him out. Tears blinded his eyesight as Antonio pulled in a hug, "I hope those are tears of happiness." Antonio tried to grin at Lovino, but he too was on the edge of getting teary eyed himself, "Really Lovi, don't cry…" Antonio's face became a light shade of pink when he fought back the dreadful tears, "I want you to stop crying. This isn't like you Lovino, I want you to be that strong and up tight Italian that I grew to love…"

Antonio's hand cupped the back of Lovino's head and hid his face from Lovino. Even though Lovino's face was buried in Antonio's chest, hidden from the sight of Antonio crying, the Italian could tell that Antonio was emotional too. His breathing was uneven, and his tears ran down on Lovino's neck, but Lovino wasn't complaining. It was nice to see that Antonio had a temperamental side besides his always joyful expression when they were together. Lovino feels like he is too spoiled when it came down to getting all the attention when he was in need of comfort. He has never thought once about Antonio's struggles in life. "Stop crying for me. Mourn over your sister, over your country, and save your tears on something else. I'm the burden that made your life so difficult, so why must you pain your heart to alleviate mine's?"

"Why must you be the one to blame when I chose to stay by your side ,and protect you until you're safe once again with your people. You know that I don't do this for everyone Lovi.", Antonio confessed. Lovino looked up and felt his cheeks burn up at a quick rate before pushing himself off of Antonio, "Damn it, stop saying all those embarrassing things…"

When they diverted they both saw each other's faces -both red, with tears smeared all over their faces with grief. Antonio clasped his hand over his mouth, and held in his laughter when he saw Lovino's face, "You look like a tomaté!"

"Shut the fuck up tomato bastardo! I will kick your ass so hard that nobody but the dogs will hear your girlish screams!" Lovino retorted.

Hearty laughter and curse words filled the room before a rumble was heard from Antonio's back pocket. Antonio wiped a tear from his eye as he bit his lips to limit any chuckles from escaping his mouth. He grabbed his communication device and looked down to view the caller I.D: _Office 1_. His body froze. He rarely gets calls from this office unless it's important, "I have to go Lovino." He stopped himself when he almost forgot about giving Lovino the watch. His hand met with the cool metal as he brought it up into Lovino's awaiting palms. "What's this?" Lovino admired the stylish watch, but he couldn't really figure out the reason for Antonio's sudden gift. "Lars wants you to wear it. It works as a tracking device, so make sure that you wear it no matter what", and with that, Antonio quickly packed his materials after putting on his Estate uniform including his mask, "Okay Lovino, I will be right back!" Antonio walked out of the bedroom, and into the livingroom before Lovino stopped him by grabbing Antonio's arm, "Make sure that come back, okay?" The streness in Lovino's eyes were something that Antonio has never seen before in his life, but Antonio nodded, "Yes I promise." He lift up his mask and kissed Lovino longingly on his lips ,and then brought his mask back down to cover his face, "See you later Lovi." Lovino watched Antonio open the door and exit the room, "Yeah… see you too."

…

The room was dark, and the awful scent of gunpowder filled Antonio's nostrils as he stood nervously, awaiting for the official that held _Office 1_. The floor was black marble, and in it's center had a drain. A powerful feeling of fear suddenly stabbed him in his gut when he looked around the room to see the cobwebs that formed in the corners of the large unlit room. The guards told him that he could not have any source of light until the officials arrived. An old desk was place sitting at the back of room, untouched for years. He could tell this because of the extra layer of thin grey dust covered the unpolished wood. There was a cabin that sat beside the desk, locked. The door opened revealing three the officials that occasionally met up with Lovino, followed by a violate moving body bag that was belted across an iron table. Lights began to flicker in the old room as the content inside began to reveal itself. It was a simple room, much to Antonio's surprise. The Spanish flag hung freely on the chipped grey painted walls over the desk.

The once constant pitter patter of the officials' dull footsteps in the hallway was now over powered by a pair of heels as the sound became louder and louder until it stopped at the door. Antonio looked back at the body bag and then back to the door and silently cursed when his mother, who was dressed in her usual military attire, walked in with a briefcase that held the estate symbol on there: two columns, a shield, and a crown that combined decoratively on the front. She placed the case on the desk and began talking to her son, "Antonio do you know why you are here?"

"No, mother. I am quite confused why you brought me here, especially on a glorious day such as our independence day. What is the concern dear mother?" Antonio had to be careful not to show any emotion because he knew that one wrong motive, his mother could intensely know if he was lying or not. The dictator faced the desked, away from her son, and opened her briefcase. Her hair was up in a low wavy bun and her black Spanish uniform suited the uncomfortable mood,"This room has gotten dirty , has it? It's been awhile since we had to use this room." A recognizable and unmistakable _click _was heard from the dictator as she motioned her hand to put the object back in the case. She turned around and walked towards Antonio and showed him what was inside: a gun and a knife. Antonio questionly looked at the case, "Ma'am, what is the meaning of this if you care to explain?"

The green eyes that the dictator passed on to Antonio flickered up, "It's the gun or knife."

Antonio furrowed his brows and repeated, "The gun or knife?"

"You have been convicted as a traitor, and in order to prove your loyalty as a Hit Man you must kill the man that is in the body bag and the Vargas child with the gun, or gouge out your eye with the knife and suffer the punishment alone," she placed the case on the ground before walking off to sit on the desk. The officials eagerly watched waiting for Antonio to act. "This room is meant for Hit Men traitors…", Antonio murmured under his breath. He turned around to the body bag and inched closer to it, "May I?"

The officials looked at each other and nodded, "Proceed. But kept the gag on his mouth."

Antonio zipped the body bag from its head to its feet and watch the tied up man inside violently roll out the bag and off the table. Blonde hair, green eyes, a single scar that rested on his forehead: Lars Van Dike. Bruises were seen on his face as blood trickled out of his mouth. A cloth gag covered his mouth, muffling out all the words that he wished to say to Antonio. The Spaniard watched Lars breathe hard and heavily through his nose as he glared at him. Lars's body was limp and tired due to all of the movement that he had committed to. Antonio looked at the knife and the gun, to the flag that was hanging on the wall over his mother, and then to Lars. He walked back to the case and got on his knees as he felt his heart speed up. His hand inched closer to the gun, a flash memory of Lovino appeared suddenly, so he stopped. He looked at the knife and his eyes widened, and his hands started to shake uncontrollably. His mother walked around the desk and sat down on the neighboring chair, "We don't have all day Antonio. Choose or we will choose for you."

"Y-Yes, I understand", Antonio slammered. His throat became dry as his heart bursted through his chest. Never in his life has he been placed in a situation as tense as this. This tested Antonio's love for Lovino, and his true support of Lovino's escape. But this was too much; this was way too much to handle.

_Stop crying for me. Mourn over your sister, over your country, and save your tears on something else. I'm the burden that made your life so difficult, so why must you pain your heart your alleviate mine's!_

Lovi…

_Why must you be the one to blame when I chose to stay by your side ,and protect you until you're safe once again with your people. You know that I don't do this for everyone Lovi..._

Lovino!

Antonio quickly grabbed the knife with his shaking hands and chanted a name silently in his mind and heart. He shut his eyes tight and brought the knife facing upwards to his face before forcing it up once more. His breathing became ragged as he let out a ferocious scream, quickly bringing the sharp tip to his eye. He missed. He flinched at the pain of his sliced eye and cheek. The cut ran from his upper cheek bone and up to his brow, "Damn it, _damn it_, _**damn it!**_"

_Thank you for being my friend._

The second attempt was was hard for Antonio. Everything began to feel too surreal. His mother, the dictator of Spain, and the officials shook their heads in disapproval at him as Lars kept moving and yelling something in the background. The blood cover knife was in his crimson blood stained hand as he looked into the reflection into the knife. The taste of iron ran into his mouth; the mixed feelings of doubt and devotion consumed his thoughts. Memories of those dreamful nights -singing, dancing , and being with his Lovino. Lovino taught him how to love again…

_Make sure that come back, okay?_

A mixture of tears and blood rolled down his face as he slammed the knife down on the marble floor. A small thin stream of blood made its way into the drain. Antonio groaned in discomfort and laid his head on on the cold ground. "There! Are you satisfied?!" His chest heaved up and down furiously… He was glad it was over…

"Great effort", the dictator straightened her back and placed her palm in her hand, "But your punishment is not over yet. I wanted your _whole _eye. Hammurabi's code: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We take that literally."

All of Antonio's energy was drain the moment when his mother said those words. Looking at the knife, he used his elbow to hold himself up until he could officially balance himself on his rear-end. He chosed to do this; he has no one but to blame but himself... Grabbing the blade, he looked at the metallic tip of it. It was oddly beautiful to be used for this occasion; it was a small, but a nicely crafted black tactical knife. In order to make this process as quick as possible, he might have to use the tip to dig and scoop out his eye.

What seemed like forever, Antonio finally brought the knife up to his face, and risen his head to glare at his mother. Strain was being placed on the only working eye that he now has left, but he has to get use to it sooner or later after today. He convulsed, almost falling and collapsing with pain as he gathered all of his strength to stand in front of the officials and the dictator. He repeated the steps of reopening his bloody eye lid, and felt the sensitivity of his eye increase with every second. The sharp end began to dig its way around the upper part of the eye, ripping and tearing bits and pieces of the conjunctiva. His vociferation shook the ears of those who were in the room, and some even jumped with surprise at the sudden outburst. Antonio's legs shook and God knows he wants to stop, but there's no turning back now. He founded his footing and made sure not to lock his knees, to avoid passing out. He must do this as safely as possible; if he were to do this carelessly, he could damage his brain. The eye began to slowly move out of its socket, and the knife eventually push the eye out. Antonio was on the verge of passing out, but he knew that it wasn't over until the optic nerve was cut off.

His right eye watched his left eye dangle from his head by a red muscle-like twine. After witnessing this one of the officials covered his mouth and ran to a nearby trash can that sat in the corner. The others either looked away or at the dictator, who showed no signs of inconvenience.

_You look like a tomaté!_

Almost. He was almost finish. Just cut the optic nerve and Lovino would be safe with Lars… The knife inched closer and closer, scarcely contacting the muscle at all._ Just get it over with. _He brought his hand back, getting ready for what was to come. The dictator eyes glazed on her son, "So you are finally going to do it huh?" She stood up away from her seat, and crossed her arms, "I'm waiting. You can't turn back now..."

With a cry, he quickly cut the optic nerve and watched his bloodshot eye drop and roll on the ground with a piece of the nerve still connected. A pain washed over him that was far more stronger than the previous one; a pain that he'd never wish upon Lars. His eye, no -his optic cord and right side of his brain was burning. Antonio screamed and hollered as he covered missing eye. Warm pools of liquid was pouring through the cracks of his fingers. He fell on his knees and tried to control his breathing. He must endure it and let Lovino live; Lovino had gone through too much for him to be killed now, so he must be strong for Lovi. His Lovi...

The pain was still there, the overbearing blood loss was making him dizzy and lightheaded, but he has gotten use to it. His legs wobbled each step that he took, but he can't fall down. That would mean giving up on Lovino. The officials backed away with slight fear as they grabbed their weapons from their suits. Antonio stood in front of his mother's desk, and blankly stared at her for a long time. He brought his hand to his mother's face, and watched the guards around him rise their weapons at him. The uncleansed green eye dropped from Antonio's palm and onto the the wooden desk. The dictator looked at the eye: mistreated, torn and ripped, and sliced at its center from the first attempt Antonio tried to get rid of the eye. Than she looked at her son: half of his face was unrecognizable, his blood was rolling from his eye down his neck and sometimes on her desk, and his shirt was stuck and matted on his skin with crimson liquid. She shook her head and sighed, "You disappoint me son", raising a hand to signal fire, she looked over Antonio's shoulder at Lars.

Antonio's eye widened as he turned around behind him, reaching out for the man on the other side of the room,"Lars!"

Multiple shots were heard in the closed room as the scent of gunpowder filled Antonio's nostrils. He watched Lars's body get attacked by dozens of impacts that stuck his weak body, piercing holes in his stomach, shoulder, and even his head before they finally ceased fire. Lars corpse fell from the wall to the ground with a 'thud' as his accumulation of blood went down the drain. "L-Lars!" Antonio's lightheadedness was slowly consuming him as he eagerly paced slowly to the body, "G-Get up. Hey, Lars? You have to get up to help Lovino out..." His knees lost all stability, forcing Antonio to the floor besides Lars. He violently shook Lars on the shoulder, "Wake up damn it!" He felt tears formulate in his right eye, and felt his muscles in his face began to tense up.

"Tonight at midnight, you are to kill the Hitman Listee, Lovino Vargas", the dictator pulled a strand of hair out of her face before frowning, "A shame that you two had formed quite the _relationship_. Good thing he was a boy, at least we won't have to worry about executing a pregnant woman", the dictator straightened her back and corrected her attire as she watched her son's shocked reaction. "When we sent you two to go and live together it wasn't because of construction , it was more for affirmation of your feelings towards the boy. And you truly did take the advantage of living together to-", a three loud beeps escaped her touch screen watch. She ran a finger down the screen to turn it off, "Well, it's time for me to give an opening speech in the city", she said looking down at Antonio. " It's a shame. I've always liked your sister better."

One by one, everyone exited the room, leaving Antonio alone once again, but with the corpse of Lars. People in white walked inside the room -or at least that was what it look like before he collapsed on his companion's body.

...

The screen continued to change into different unrelated scenes as Lovino sat on the living room couch, pointing the remote to the flat screen t.v that was hanging on the wall. _What was taking Antonio so long? _Glancing down at the watch that Antonio has given him, he frowned: 7:29 p.m. All day he has been locked inside of the apartment with little to no entertainment besides drawing, writing random letters and memos to Feliciano, and watching a bunch of old Spanish Soap Operas, not like he was complaining. He threw the remote right beside him, leaving on the current channel that he stopped on. It was showing the independence parade. Everyone looked extremely happy to be there -well they should since it is their holiday, but still. He can't help but smile happily to himself knowing that he will see his family soon. Feliciano, his brother, will greet him with open arms and offer him an Italian meal. Just the thought of it made him joyful about the escape… His smile fell when a mental image of Antonio appeared with Feliciano. Right now, Lovino is stuck whether or not he should forcefully forget Antonio , or let him remain as a memory that he will always have close and dear to his heart. Antonio: the person that will always make him smile, knowing that he is there for him; he was Lovino's first love, besides tomatoes. All the power suddenly in the house was cut off, including the television set. Lovino jolted up from his seat and walked to the switch. He pressed the touch screen button to turn on all of the lights once more, but to his surprise they wouldn't come on. Sighing , Lovino walked into the kitchen to open the refrigerator door, "Damn it, now the food is going to spoil." Vegetables, fruits, and dairy products were organized in different categories in the shelves, _clearly done by Antonio. It too damn long to do that much work for eating. _He opened the bottom shelf to reveal a tray of shiny plump red tomatoes.

He grabbed one from the bunch and brought it to his lips before he felt a sudden impact on his neck, knocking him out on the cold floor, without any view of who did it.

...

The uncomfortable throb on his head woke Lovino up from his already unpleasant sleep. His body laid cold and still on the cemented ground as he felt no strength whatsoever to get up, or lift his head up to look at the official and official trainee, that stood before him. Cheek planted on the ground, Lovino stared at the back wall of the cramped cell room, trying to feel his body move. Heaviness weighed his limbs when he attempted getting up, and his throat was dry. He saw two shadows luring behind the metal iron bars on the wall that was face towards him. The light silhouetted the males' figures, creating a miniature shadow play of the two men talking. His hearing wasn't as top-notch like it normally was, so all that he could really comprehend were soft murmurs. _They must've drugged me._ His vision wasn't no good either, but it was decent enough to witness the dark blurs become closer to the bars that separated Lovino with them. Lovino hearing increasingly began to become more reliable when the murmurs transitioned to actually words. "Why are they bringing him here?" asked the left shadow. The corresponding shadow shook what seemed like his head, "The Hit Man is going to get rid of the Hit Listee later on in this room. The officials informed me that it would be easier to dispose the bodies together."

Lovino shook at those words, and felt a unpleasurable jab in his stomach. _What body? _

"Oh, that sucks. I guess we really didn't need the Hit Man", the figure stopped talking, but then continued, " Wait- so I'm confused", the left shadow brought its arm up to rub the back of his head, "Weren't we going to use him as a source to find the inheritance?" Undoubtedly, this man was young in his prime years; curious, unknowledgeable compared to his elder, and impulsive. But one question lingered in Lovino's mind,

_How do they know about the inheritance?_

The right shadow's lower voice grunted, "Yes, but it was later revealed that he didn't know shit about the money. That's why they kept him alive for so long. -Same goes for his brother. But he wasn't as knowledgeable like his brother, so The Greater German People and The Kingdom of Spain agreed to discard him."

_Feliciano?_

The young man voice sounded confused, "Meaning-?"

"Meaning, he knew information that his brother knew nothing about…"

Heavy footsteps echoed down the hall in marching unison as Lovino eyed the oncoming shadows, and watched them carry a cocoon-like bag. The previous shadows from earlier moved aside to let the marching men reach the door. After unlocking the rather complex touch screen lock, the metal cell gate opened. Lovino held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut, hearing the sound of something large hit and slide on the ground beside him. His heartbeat speeded, waiting for the footsteps to cease and leave his side. He peered his eyes to the black long bag that was swung awkwardly in the corner. The shadows began to disappear down the hallway before finally hearing the double steel doors close and lock. His forefinger began to twitch as he started to feel his body respond. That bag bothered him and it haunted him. He already knows who is inside the bag, but couldn't accept it. Dragging the lower half of his body, he forced himself closer to the bag. The bag was tinted in a orange hue light due to the peculiar lighting in the room. He brought his hand up to the zipper, but stopped his quivering hand.

_He can't do this... _Dropping his hand to his side, Lovino clenched his fist before bring his hand up again. The metal zipper met with his fingers, pulling the latch down, slowly revealing the face of someone quite familiar. Green eyes, blonde hair that was slicked up, and a single scar that was implanted above his brow: Lars Van Dike. Lovino's eyes burned with tears, and heat rose to his cheeks as he glared down on himself. He reached out and used the bit of strength he had left to hug Lars corpse's waist, over the bag, and sobbed loudly into his lap. They had come too far for Lars to die like this, especially in the hands of Spain's government. Lars wasn't supposed to go like this! He was supposed to come back home with him to greet Feliciano, and continue to constantly worry about whether or not he was listening to his plans! Lovino shivered and buried his head in his hands.

_This was my fault..._

_This was my fault..._


	7. Chapter 7

[ED/N - FrauWolf]  
Once again, I am here to remind everyone that this story is now rated M, due to being filled with blood, violence, gratuitous gore, angst, general misery, etc. Not even I know what's going to happen in the future, but I doubt it will be anything other than more of the same from the last chapter, so just take that as the standard from now on. Seriously, this is not a happy little story. Please understand - FrauWolf

[ED/N] - lmaolevi  
So, it's chapter seven… a-lot of stuff has been happening, and a-lot of research has been put into this. (This chapter, that is.) This chapter has lots of mature content, as you can probably guess, so warnings on that. I haven't commented in a while-mostly because I've forgotten to-but I guess if you have any questions about the story, just send a PM to either FrauWolf, the author, or myself. Anyway, this isn't a story for squeamish people, so, brace yourselves I guess.

**Author's Note**: This has to be the hardest chapter that I've ever written! Thanks to my editors, I am not going to write a bunch of crap on paper. Currently, I am forced to research a bunch military tactics, which I find pretty interesting, and I have to research more stuff about how the government works, because apparently -I am doing it wrong. Also I thank FrauWolf for giving me the awesome operation name for the mission that you'll witness later on. Thanks for supporting this story~! I really do enjoy writing this, and hopefully when I get the time, I will update this story more often! Please critique this story I am very open when it comes down to improving my writing. Please check out the story that lmaolevi and FrauWolf are currently writing: Requiem; it is found on lmaolevi's account.~(=w=)

PLEASE READ THE WARNING IF YOU HAVEN'T YET. 

Enjoy~

_Now let's get serious. The Hit List_

_Lovino's Story _

_Part 3 out of 3_

The diversities of Spanish foods that flooded the dancing streets of Madrid, the capital city of Spain, created an even bigger distraction for Feliciano. The women were dressed in their colorful traditional Spanish dresses, and their hair danced delicately to the beat of their twirling skirts. Feliciano pulled his hat further down on his head, blocking out anything that would become an obstacle to his reunion with his fratello, Lovino. His feet had begun to feel a little sore from all the walking that he had been subjected to for the past hour or so, but he was motivated to carry on in spite of the uneasy pain because of the excitement of seeing his brother, which brought a smile to his face once more. The undercover guards of Democracy surrounded Laura, his caretaker and teacher, and him to hide and subtract any contact with civilians. From the corner of Feliciano's eye, he could see a few of his government's guards hiding amongst the shadows of the the roof tops, nodding to Laura and then contacting the neighboring guard through their ear piece that they had safely reached a step closer to their destination. Feliciano looked down to his feet and clenched his fists together with nervousness, and then he looked up to Laura. Her dark brown contact lenses covered her green eyes; her hair had been temporarily dyed black and was tied in a tight high bun. Feliciano was forced to do the same routine; minus the bun, obviously. She watched the 16 year old and nudged his right shoulder, "Feliciano, remember that you were the one who wanted to do this. There is no turning back, okay? Think of all of your training, and match that with your experiences in real life." Feliciano nodded, feeling relieved when Laura gave him the words of advice; it was something that he really did need: confidence and motivation. The city noises began to fade into the distance, replaced by the sounds of nature. Feliciano was reminded of his home in Italy.

Just behind the large apartment building that they were passing, a dark van was hidden in the alley with their men in it - preparing their weapons, computer devices, and their communication systems for the upcoming battle. Not so soon, Laura patted Feliciano towards the van before putting something in his pocket and zipping it up, "Use this if you are in trouble." Laura turned around with the other troops to take her leave to prepare for the start of the mission. Feliciano glanced back at her and grabbed her gloved hand, stopping her from leaving him with the opposite group. Feliciano held his breath and smiled softly to Laura, nervously, "Do you think we'll be able to save Lovino?"

Laura leveled her eyes with Feliciano's, showing slight sincerity as she answered back, "I can't promise you that Lovino will make it out alive. Our primary goal is to disrupt Spain's fascist government. But, Lovino just so happened to be here," Laura's hand rose from her side to rest on Feliciano's shoulder, "That's the only reason why the troops are making the effort to save your brother." She stopped her explanation to pat Feliciano on the head, "But you already knew that… I'll do my best to save Lovino", she smiled, parting ways with Feliciano.

Nobody spoke during the ride to the station, and the sounds of rapid keystrokes were heard from each of the portable laptops that the soldiers had to bring. The devices were safely stored away within a heavy metallic briefcase for protection, containing a thumb scanner on the side of the case for security purposes. Feliciano had a watchful eye -studying the motions of their hands. It appeared that they were setting up the first few cameras on the east side of Madrid, the part of town that he and Laura were once located at. Just last year, had Laura discovered his ability of analyzing data on computers. While instructing him on his coordinates,to practice firing missiles, everything was fairly simple for him; he was always the first one to complete his computer work - except when he had physical training in the morning with the other kids. Doing extreme workout routines had always tormented his lower abdomen ever since he got to Belgium, when he was twelve. Thus he was the easiest kid to get picked on: he has the brains but not the brawn. That's what he likes to say on the majority, but in reality he had neither; he just has pep and motivation to learn something new.

He guess this was what he got himself into, wanting to take part in the government in the hopes of finding Lovino. Italy had then been divided into a vast amount of city-states, thanks to the collapse of the Italian government. Thankfully before the fascist governments moved in on the city-states, one of Italy's allies, The United Kingdom, uplifted and unified the government by loaning a fund to South Italy: the last unified part of the country with substantial exponential growth. In conclusion, North Italy is in the hands of the Germans. They soon had to move minor parts of the Italian government to Belgium, their closest ally, to replenish what was lost: their resources, their history and culture, and their secrets.

One of the soldiers got up from his strapped seat to give Feliciano his assigned portable laptop. With his hands stretched and his insides jumbled up, Feliciano grabbed the cool black case, and instantly felt the weight carry him down. He heaved the case onto his lap, much to the soldiers' amusement, and stared at the cover. Feliciano gulped and looked to his right and than his left; they were all working hard, and he needs to too. Placing his thumb on the scanner on the side of the case, he watched the green strain of light go up and down his thumb before hearing the case unlock. In the back of Feliciano's mind, he knew that everyone in this van was downright nervous. This was the first invasion that the democratic states had committed since the mid 2000s. This is Operation Inquisition.

The lights suddenly went off as everyone glanced at the back window to the beams of a following truck. Captain Augustine Chapler - a transferred British recruit, slowly lift his foot from the gas pedal, and made a complete stop before turning his head around to face everyone, "Everyone, remember what we've rehearsed," he whispered. Everyone gave him a thoughtful nod as they began to plant the now closed devices under the adjustable floor. The Brit glanced at Feliciano, "And you, Vargas. Don't fuck this up," he signaled Feliciano to come closer to him to replace seats with him. Feliciano, with the most convincing Spanish accent, was assigned to communicate whenever they encountered any Spanish.

Feliciano sat down in the driver's seat and gripped the wheel as he looked into the rearview mirror. The closer the officer became in the mirror, the more he felt the bile well up his throat. His dark brown contact lenses finally flickered to his side as the masked guard stood before him, "Identification." Feliciano smiled at him and nodded, reaching down to the sleeve of his pocket to pretend that he was grabbing his card, "Yes, please wait for moment, it's been awhile since I've went to the countryside to visit my grandmother. I almost forgot." Feliciano turned around in fear: he doesn't have an identification device. The other six and Augustine silently cursed when they realized what the guard would do next. Feliciano looked up to the guard and crossed his brows, "It appears that I've left it at home… If you like, you can follow me to my destination and I will show proof that I was going to my grandmother's household for the independence day celebration."

In the rearview mirror Augustine was mouthing out, "What the fuck are you doing?!"

The guard studied Feliciano's actions, pulled out a journal and pen, and began scribbling something down, "Here, this is an identification pass for three days-enough time for you to go there and go back home." He placed the paper on his government touch screen to scan the paper passport, and momentarily a thin card came out of the side of the touch screen, "I need to scan your finger on the card, and you'll be fine." Feliciano smiled and nodded nervously as he pressed his forefinger on the surface of the card.

The guard looked down at the card and gave to back to Feliciano, "You are good to go. Have a great independence day."

"Ve, eh?" He stumbled over his words in shock and surprise, " Ah- you too sir", Feliciano stepped on the pedal and drove down the road. When the Spanish guard passed them, Feliciano stopped the vehicle to let Augustine take the wheel. The 27 year old Brit switched seats with Feliciano, and started driving.

…

"I am going to review the plan once more if case anyone forgot it. If anyone is confused I will personally have a tete-a-tete with you", Augustine stood before everyone, in the front of all of the aligned desks that sat adjacent to one another within the abandon meeting room that was on the third floor of the old hotel. This place was perfect for their mission. It was far enough from Madrid, yet close enough to record and make sure everything is following accorded to plan. "This mission is divided into three groups and two wings. Group A will distract the Estate on the North Gate while Group B will bomb the West Gate. Group C will cave in after the bombing to attack the West Gate. The West Wing, which will be us, will hack into most of the codes and coordinates provided by Lar Van Dike. This will shut down all of their communication at the Estate. The East Wing is in charge of communicating with the soldiers." Augustine's computer was on the carpeted floor, in the dark room, as he connected a few wires into the old SMART board to make it more visible for others that were sitting down. "This screen will be the camera of the front gate of the Estate, and your screens will show you different parts of the Estate as well. Don't leave your eyes off of that screen unless I tell you to. Record everything, and report the material to East Wing so that they can alert our soldiers."

Everyone, including Feliciano, stood up from their seats and saluted, "Yes Captain!" Augustine pointed at each person and called out their assigned gate until he reached Feliciano, "Vargas, you are assigned to the West Gate."

"Um- ,y-yes sir!" Feliciano agreed patriotically. Everyone took their seats and waited on Augustine's cue. The time watch was in his hand, dangling by a shoelace thread. The amount of time was visible to see: five minutes. "Now, any questions?" Augustine arched his brow and looked around the room. Most of the hackers in there were in their mid to late twenties, so they were all professionals. Feliciano already knew that the reason Augustine was humble enough to re explain the mission to them was because Feliciano was there. He was only sixteen, but he had a motive. He was too close to fail now; he was too close to his Fratello. The seconds felt like minutes as Augustine began to count down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Let Operation Inquisition begin.

The screen was black, and the text was green: completely normal. Feliciano typed out the first set of codes to disable the private Spanish radio waves that circulated around the city -cutting off all communication for the guards. Unlike Madrid's technology, their advances work differently from theirs, allowing the Democracy to communicate more efficiently. Augustine looked at the SMART board, and based off of what he saw, the guards throughout the Spanish Estate were alert and panicking, "Everyone good job! Now connect your screens to the Estate cameras."

"Yes sir!"

Feliciano's screen flickered on and off until it was clear as he putted a headphone bud in one of his ears like the others. He pressed the left arrow key to move the camera to the left to view the West Gate. The area flooded with armed guards; he pressed the right arrow key, looking around the area and found civilians and civilian buildings located at the front of the gate. Feliciano furrowed his brows as he zoomed in closer to find unarmed children, women, and families celebrating their independence day, "Sir, we have to call it off! There are unarmed civilians located at the West Gate." Feliciano stopped and looked up, standing from his seat to alert everyone while waiting for an answer. His eyes followed everyone's action, feeling his voice tremble, repeating the question slower again, "Didn't you hear me?"

"Vargas, shut up and record everything you see," Augustine retorted without looking up from his screen, "This operation will save millions. So don't think too much about it... because weren't you the one that signed up for this mission?"

He was right. Feliciano did sign up for this mission when no one volunteered… A feeling of worry hit Feliciano like an unexpecting tidal wave. He signed up for this… His legs gave out and his buttocks landed on the seat cushion, "Yes sir…" Everyone soon so happy; they don't even know what was about to happen. If he was to try to warn the people, this mission would be a complete failure. All he could do was sit there, mourn for the mothers that would never see their baby boy or girl smile again, and mourn for the parentless children after tonight.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

As expected, seven RPGs were shot in the air, heading towards the gate and near a little girl who was with her friends eating traditional foods. He quickly closed his eyes, afraid to look. Screams of agony were heard in his headphone and hopeless shouts and yells for help were constantly being chanted in his ear. Feliciano opened his eyes once more to see the camera shake due to the impact. Grey smoke fogged the screen until a faint orange was visible in the background. It was a fire. Feliciano's eyes widen as he witnessed the mishappenings unfold one by one. He couldn't help but stare; he couldn't do anything in the first place… but stare. A gust of wind carried the smoke away from the screen; seemingly, it was reasonable to predict that the fire started because of open fire cooking for the independence day. He gripped the mouse from the computer and shakingly breathed. That same young lady that Feliciano saw earlier was dismembered from the waist down; her body flung near the camera, giving Feliciano a solid view of her organs and intestines slowly leaking off of the roof, onto the ground where her other half laid. Her eyes had almost popped out of her skull. Feliciano breathed faster, turning the camera view to the next location. In the background it appeared that some were heading to an unfortunate death. A child was running, towards the blasted gate yelling and hollering as his body was being melted and eventually burned to a dark coal-like crisp. Hundreds of other survivors were either running away, leaving the wounded or dead, or they were the wounded and _**left**_ for dead. Feliciano wanted to gag. He shut his mouth with his hand and held his stomach in tears before feeling something build up in his throat. Hard breathing, gasps and harsh gags escaped his lips before finally relieving himself by throwing up behind his seat. His breathing was ragged and his body was weak. If it weren't for the other desk that was right beside him, he would've fell in his vomit. Everyone, were once again, ignoring him, and was trying to block out the reeking smell from behind them. Fireworks were audible in his ear bud, making Feliciano flich with discomfort, reminding him of the recent RPGs that destroyed the gate.

Feliciano turned back around and looked at the dreadful scene before a bag of ginger chews were placed in front of him. Feliciano looked up to see Augustine. "These should help calm your stomach. I figured something like this might happen," he walked back to his chair to continue working, leaving Feliciano behind. The Italian nodded and opened up another window to communicate to the East Wing that the bombing was successful. He hovered his mouse over the send button and clicked on it. _Message Completed_.

…

Cheers and applauses filled the night sky as the dictator of Spain finished her opening speech to release the nine o'clock fireworks, "And I would like to thank all of you for being here. You are the ones that makes up Spain. Without you, we would've never made it through!" More cheers and praises followed afterwards, as the dictator waved her hand and gave everyone a stern, yet powerful look, "So today, let us celebrate our independence day!" Music began to play as the fireworks shot up in the pitch black sky, creating blooms of golden and colorful flowers in the air. Children who were on their parent's shoulders, clapped their hands with excitement as they viewed the small designs of art flourish in the sky. The dictator looked on at the sight before her, taking in all of the smiling and joyful faces that she had deceived, and turned her back away from the crowd. She took her seat and tapped her foot to the fast paced beat of the celebration music when suddenly one of the officials leaned down, "Ma'am, we have a problem," he said in a low voice.

...

Pink and Red: the devotion that Lovino has for Antonio; the colors of love and passion; the color of Lovino's throbbing and aching fists that were banging on the wall out of pure anger and frustration. He was tired of this; he was tired of it all, and in his heart he knew that he was on the edge of giving up. Unknowing the factor that triggered his hopeful thoughts that he would be saved from this wretched place, Lovino sat back down beside Lars, legs crossed. "Hey Lars..." Lovino looked down at his ring and twisted it clockwise, witnessing the reflexion of the dim light hitting his pupils. He brought his hand to the black body bag and patted it. "Thanks for everything," he bit his lip and rubbed his temple, shook his head, and sighed, "It would've been cool if we could come back home." The ring was gently pulled off of Lovino's slender finger before clenching it in his fists. He was no longer burdened with sadness and grief, but as the night passed he developed feelings of infuriation with not only himself, but towards the government. Even if this is the last day of his short life, he wasn't going to crack; even if they kick, spit, and beat him he wouldn't show any signs of weakness.

Showing emotion to Antonio would only make it harder for the both of them, and the government would grow suspicious of their 'close' relationship, if they weren't already. He didn't want Antonio to experience a living hell after he was gone. Lovino looked up to the dark ceiling. Was he truly ready to die? He couldn't imagine himself doing anything to aid Feliciano in any way if they ever meet again - but should he take the step to end it all to stop the pain and misfortune in his life? Should he, or should he not give up. The bittersweet thought of going into an eternal sleep... _was scary._ The idea of leaving a corrupted world for another gave him a feeling of _incompletion. _

The footsteps around the corner grew louder and louder until it stopped entirely. A couple of pairs of hands grabbed Lovino's arms to pull him up and away from the cell room. A sharp needle was planted in his neck as his sight began to become hazy.

...

_Lovino couldn't see anything but the blur of his hands and body. A gale of warmth hit him as he smiled, "This is the same dream as before." His feet were bare and the ground was cool as he inched closer to the single standing door that was surrounded by the midst of nothingness. He grabbed the knob and pressed his ear to the door: a damaged Italian song was being played over and over again behind the door. The once fantastic Italian meal aroma that attracted Lovino to the door like a magnet, from his previous dream, was replaced by something different. When Lovino twisted and pushed the knob, a pair of hands cover his eyes, leaving him in slight shock. "Relax, Fratello. We are almost there." This must be Feliciano... Lovino relaxed his muscles and opened his mouth so that he could speak, but no words could come out his mouth. His body obediently allowed Feliciano to guide him into the room, when suddenly he disappeared. The hands that once blinded him were no longer there; however his eyelids wouldn't budge. It's not like he couldn't do it, but it was more like, he was __**afraid **__to see the the reality that he had personally avoided for the past four years. Naturally, he knew that he couldn't stand there forever and let his burning curiosity ignite into a mental hell. Shallow yet steady breaths escaped his lips when he slowly began to feel faint. He opened his eyes to see doors that faced each other down a long and dark hall. Down the rear of the narrow walkway it was visible to see a dark and limp figure, standing beside the doors._

_Lovino finally took the chance to look around the room: the kitchen wasn't there anymore - but a single object was beside him in the dark room, a broken recorder that played the same scratched Italian disk. Hands, arms, and legs seems fine. The balance was a little off and his bare body began to feel cold due to the exposure, but other than that he was pretty okay. His feet began to move, against his will, coming closer to the end of the hallway. Consciousness was overshadowed by his nightmare. He knew this wasn't real, but he felt a sudden need to know who and what was at the end of the seemly everlasting pathway to reality. The floor was wooden, old, and filthy; a cloud of dust would form with every step he took, yet he kept moving towards the end of what was waiting for him. The walls were tattered and held a few dark stains of a dark dried crimson. Lovino lifted his palm to press against the wall, tracing the outermost layer of the wall. "The walls were burned..." he quietly said to himself while feeling the minor crisps of what was leftover, on the wall, that soon form into a coal-like powder in the grip of his fist. _

_This place... seems so familiar, but he can't recall this area. The shadowed figure stood there with its head hung down low, hiding its face from him. Or that's what it appeared._

_CLICK_

_Lovino's breathing hitched as he recognized the sound of something that he had always wished to forget. Shivers ran down his spine, his body froze, watching the quivering body before him. "This is just a dream, wake up!" he mentally shouted in his mind, "It's time for me to wake up!" In panic, he quickly shut his eyes and squeezed his fists before realizing that nothing was happening. The feeling of hopelessness in a nightmare, the feeling of knowing whatever he does won't work, frightens him. For a moment in time, he was quite infamously known to have nightmares in his early childhood. But the intensity has heightened to the point of insanity. The fear of the unknowledgeable truth that he was hidden for the past few years; the fear of not knowing your fate, furthermore the fear of not knowing what was behind him: the future enemies he will have to confront sooner or later. Turning around, would be the first step of showing confidence and standing against his fears. He took one step forward and braced himself for what was to come. _

_Is this the shadow... of death?_

...

Organized groups of trained militants dashed past the rubble of the West Gate, quickly aiming and shooting down the oncoming Spanish guards. The instructions were made loud and clear to Laura, and it was her job to lead her unit and follow through the mission. A buzzing sound escaped her earpiece which alerted her that East Wing was on the line. She quickly pressed the side button to answer, balanced the oversized weapon in her hands, shot down an armed Spanish guard to clear the pathway for her men, and ran to a secure place to catch her breath, "Laura speaking!"

A voice began speaking in her ear as she carefully listened, signing her men the cue that there are updated instructions, "There is an opening in the building next to you. Alert your men."

Laura looked to her right and glared over at the rubble, dust clouds and fires sprinkled across the area. It would look obvious if all of her men were to follow her in the building, so she just might have to go in there in a smaller group. She watched the battle: everything was going fairly well. They had several other units that fought along with her's. At this rate, it could be possible for her to look for Lovino. With a smile, she reloaded her gun and wiped her moist, dirt-covered face,"Group A come with me! Groups B, C, and D distract them until I give you the recognition to go inside the building," she spoke in her communication device to her unit and awaited for a united chant in her earpiece of a promising, "Yes ma'am!"

Satisfaction triggered her to start towards the building with her soldiers, replying back to them, "Alright!"

...

Experience and time had made him older, but the sickening feelings of affection for someone had made him stupid. His back was aching pretty badly whereas his head was throbbing. The darkness of the room and the chirping crickets that sung to the night sky felt heavy in Antonio's heart. Lovino: the illuminating gleam of morning sunshine which unexpectedly softened him, was lying beside him on the cold ground, looking up to the pale moon. The painful strain that was placed on his right eye was easier to bear than the sight of the eerie stillness, that was almost sinister, to behold on Lovino's face. Antonio himself couldn't get up from the forceful impact of the explosion. Someone had bombed the West Gate: the closest gate to their location. Rubble and fragments of the ceiling that was blown off earlier was sprinkled all over their bodies. His memory was shattered in the wrong places as he tried to recall what happened.

There was a gun, a bullet, and Lovino in _Office 1. _

He froze. Antonio could hear the blood pounding in his ears as he felt every joint, muscle and bone in his body lock; for no matter how much he mentally screamed at himself , "Do something. _Do something!_" He remained frozen. There's a limitation in his movement and his mind, so there was little that he could do for himself - let alone Lovino. He couldn't feel, breathe, or process his thoughts right as he witness the oozing warm blood escape Lovino's head in a slow and steady fashion, that eventually formed into a thick pool that surrounded both their heads.

Was this the beginning stages of insanity, not being able to really pinpoint emotions, but rather blank out after tragic happenings?

Lovino had a peaceful expression when the trigger was pulled, just like now. Antonio knew that he should be crying, but his body was utterly numb. With all of his strength, he was able to sit himself up, leaning on the cracked wall that was behind him. He brought Lovino's top half to rest on his shoulder, and placed his quivering palm on Lovino's injury with pressure. That aching sensation of lost had dug a hole in his heart; it was excruciating. His breathing quickened and hitched in an unsteady tempo as he lowered his head with defeat, and began to cry. Whimpers escaped his lips, tears stained his cheeks and a dark blush covered his face. The wrapped bandages that covered his left eye, the slash marks that covered his face due to a self mutilation tradition that traitors like him was forced to do -was all in vain. Lars was gone, he was still forced to perform his duty of a Hit Man, and Lovino was fading away from existence. Even if he hadn't gouged his eye out, they would've suffered the same fate.

Calling for help would ensure Lovino's disappearance, so all he could do was try to stop the bleeding himself...

...

His gaze was unrelentingly focused on the bright screen, never noticing the shuffled steps that were coming nearer to Feliciano and the others. Fingers became a clutching white on the mouse as if his silent personal berations began to finally consume him. The loud and urgent message flitted their attention to Augustine as he said, " Enemy troops had tracked down our wiring. Pack everything up, do not leave a trace."

Not too soon after that statement, Feliciano's comrades quickly got up and started packing their gear. However, Feliciano slammed his fist on the desktop and stood up, flabbergasted, and whispered to himself with disbelief, "What?" The room was aligned, yet chaotic as his peers around him quickly packed the wires that were once neatly plugged in the different sockets throughout the room. Taking a stand, Augustine led everyone in the room with a very composed look, contradicting Feliciano's actions. This pulsing feeling that made it harder for him to breathe. The sweat that clung on his shirt and body, including the death grip of the desk that supported his weight was almost dreamlike. But why does it seem that these uncomfortable feelings were something that he had experienced in a distant time in his life? Feliciano placed his hands on his head so that he could control his breathing, and calm down. After doing a quick breathing technique that Laura taught him, Feliciano closed up his computer briefcase, and shakingly packed his materials as he followed Augustine's orders.

The room was cleared out and reconstructed in a way that didn't make it too noticeable that people were in there. Everything seemed like it was going according to plan. After racing down a few flights of steps, carrying heavy computers, and praying to God that they didn't trip over any wires while running was completely tiresome when they got to the van. Augustine, of course, took the wheel and started the engine before looking in the rearview mirror, "Vargas."

Feliciano jolted up,"Eh-, yes sir?"

"Take the data chip out of the dispatcher and give it to me." This threw off people as well as Feliciano. It was prohibited to do anything like this.

One braved up and stopped Feliciano, "Sir, you can't. That woul-".

"I would follow the rules if the Spanish government isn't on our arses," Augustine turned around from his seat and glared at everyone, "We are going to finish this mission, no matter what."

Following the simple instructions, Feliciano did as he was told and gave him the memory chip. If he was determined to complete this mission, than Feliciano has no choice but to trust him. The glowing clear chip was exserted out of the computer as Feliciano gave Augustine both the computer and memory card in hand, "Sir, I promise that I will do my best to complete this mission alongside with the others." And with that, he let go of the device and quickly sat down with the others, ready to take off. Augustine looked at the computer, placed a mysterious object at the bottom and whispered, "This should be good enough." To Feliciano's surprise, as well as the others, Augustine tossed the computer out the window and drove off to the road.

A moment of silence overtook the vehicle. Feliciano looked at the soldiers beside him, then to Augustine, then to the floor with a frustrated sigh, "You… know you threw out my computer. Right?"

Augustine ignored the question, mostly focusing on the road and the others, "Everyone, continue the mission. I will constantly drive to mess with their tracking signal."

Feliciano scratched his head and looked around once more, then to Augustine who was yet again ignoring him, and then back to the floor, "Quick question sir. Why exactly did you throw my computer out the van?" He brought his hands up and shook his head, "It's not like I'm not confident in your judgement..." he stopped to think about what to say next, "But it's more like… we're all screwed if they get the computer."

"We wouldn't be screwed," Augustine's voice was filled with confidence as he smirked to himself, "They would be." He allowed his foot to increasingly press on the gas pedal, turning the opposite direction of East Wing. Explanations doesn't create confusion, but it indeed creates even more questions to clarify their understanding. And that was a risk that Augustine was willingly to take. "If we go to East Wing, the Spanish government could easily follow us and take out not only the us, but also the East Wing. And as for Vargas's computer, I attached a self destruct bomb that is in my control for whenever they get it," he turned the wheel sharply to the left, almost losing control over the dirt road. Suddenly headlights appeared from behind and gun shots skidded on the side of the back of the van. Feliciano grabbed the nearest person to him as the yelled in fear, "What was that?!" He already knew that it was clearly the sound of bullets hitting the rim of the vehicle, but a part of him was still denying it.

"Get the guns, they are behind us," Augustine stated.

Everyone done what they were told. A hidden compartment rested below Feliciano's feet, unbeknownst to him. After being pushed aside, Feliciano watched the dark flooring rise up and separate under his feet. Unlike him, the hackers quickly got a gun to their liking and did a few preparations to get ready for the shoot out. His eyes glazed at the uncountable pistols and machine guns that were coming out of the deposit one by one. While the van was still moving, the others soon began to roll down their windows and point their guns to the government trucks behind them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Eck!" He placed his hand over his heart as he remembered the RPGs. But then, Feliciano felt his heart race when he realized that he was the only one without a gun. Teary eyed, Feliciano got on his knees and began scrambling around the vault like a mad person. All of the weapons were pretty big, but that wasn't going to stop Feliciano. He grabbed a pistol that even he thought looked light. Thus he grabbed it and tried to pick it up, more like dragging it, and concludingly gave up. Stopping, he recalled the words that Laura had told him before she left, "_Use this if you are in trouble._"

Automatically his hand reached his side, zipping down his coat pocket to grab what was inside. He felt something cold glide on the tips of his finger, quite shock that Laura had given him something like this. The handle fitted nicely in his grip as he slowly pulled it out to see the words _Glock _written on it, the magazine loaded with 17 9-millimeter rounds_. _The gun was black and dull compared to the shiny ones that everyone else had, but he didn't care. If this gun could protect him he wouldn't care if it's the last thing on Earth.

BANG!

A government truck was driving next to theirs, and the driver had shot inside their vehicle - almost hitting Feliciano. The driver pulled the trigger again, but founded that it was out of ammo. With this Feliciano quickly pressed the activation button to roll up the window, but apparently it was broken. Looking up, he clamp both hands together, "Please don't kill me! I'm still a virgin, and killing virgins isn't any fun!"

The man before Feliciano began to rise his weapon to the boy.

"Vargas duck down!"

BANG!

The gun sound was later followed by a screech and crash. That was all that Feliciano could accumulate at the time. He looked through the cracks of his fingers ,and brought his head up to see Augustine with a pistol in one hand and the wheel in the other, "What the hell are you doing?! You had a freaking gun in your hand, and what do you do? You give him time to shoot you!" Augustine sighed and continued driving, "Man u-"

BANG!

Augustine's hand gripped the wheel rather tightly, letting out a deep sigh before inhaling in again,"What the hell - Vargas what is wrong with you?!"

Feliciano dropped the gun on the seat and stared outside the window, "I-I didn't mean to shoot it's just-!" His hands were trembling. Was shooting suppose to feel like this? It's not like he did it on purpose, it more of an instinct, "It's just that someone was about to shoot you," his voice gradually became quieter with every spoken word until another sharp turn was made, knocking Feliciano off his feet and into the seat.

"Vargas, take the wheel. I have to get rid of them. There is no way in hell that I am going to put my life in your hands," Augustine placed the gun on his lap and used his free hand to unbuckle his seatbelt, "If I discharge the bomb, and throw some grenades, I should probably be able to slow them down." With this request, it was likely that he had never experienced Feliciano drive before, for he would regret that request. Feliciano slyly sat down on the driver's seat, watching Augustine open the roof door, setting up a machine gun to rest on top of the car. "Ve, so what do I do? Just drive?" Feliciano thought to himself while looking around, finding another road to turn to. And just like the safe driver he was, he looked both ways and turned his signal light on.

Meanwhile, the preparations for the grenade launch was finally ready. Augustine pointed the machine gun towards some of the vehicles' wheels or the driver. The target was set until he noticed something flashing at the back of the van: signal lights. Meaning, they were constantly on their tail, because Feliciano was practically begging them to make their jobs harder. "Vargas! Stop turning on the signal lights!" He yelled with frustration, his face was red with anger. How the heck can a guy be this useless? "Keep straight. Do not turn!" Augustine looked out once more to see that the target didn't move much, which was good. He leaned his elbow on the frame of the roof to get better aim, allowing him to kill the driver instantaneously. His finger almost pulled the trigger until- "Yes sir! Turning right now!"

"Hold u-!"

The grenades rolled off the roof top and Augustine felt the air knocked right out of his lungs when his ribs hit the frame of the roof door. Desperate to hold on to the roof and not fall, he clutched the closest thing to him: the trigger. Explosives and firearms rained down on the enemy troops, blowing up their vehicles and shooting down their men. It was indeed a victorious accident.

It took Augustine about a hour to calm down once things were over. However when East Wing proclaimed, "Operation Inquisition Completed," it was a feeling that Feliciano had never felt before. He had contributed to something amazing, something that would be remembered for days to come. The Spanish Government was at a standstill. The flags that demonstrated their patriotism was fluttering down in defeat, and the music that once crowded the streets was replaced with silence. Joy was no longer there, but fear certainly was. Entering the city of Madrid was undoubtedly uncomfortable to see. The sparkle in Feliciano's eyes was no longer there when he peered his glance from the confetti to the shut doors of homes. His eyes locked on a young boy that was peeking out his bedroom window. That was the case until his mother quickly shooed him away to close the curtain. Where was that feeling now? The excitement that he once felt for winning a battle was no longer there. A mental pain had stabbed him; it made him feel less human. He had watched these people suffer for a reason that even he couldn't explain. He thought about the dictator's upcoming adversaries, yet he knew that he shouldn't pity the enemy. Never, not even once, had he thought a country itself was evil. The people was not the enemy. They were the majority that were deceived to believe that their values must match with their leaders' beliefs on life - much like the Greater German People. "_That's apparently how the world work_s," Feliciano thought. For now, he'd set this aside and focus on getting to Lovino...

...

An unexpected reunion had occurred for Laura. The man that destroyed her family sat before her alongside an injured man that bled from his head - supposedly he was dead. "Antonio?" was the only thing that she could say, feeling her lip twitch downward as she walked towards the two bodies that leaned on the wall. With a second glance on the touch screen tracking device, she realized that the target was closer than she thought. Worry and anger came over her when the device began to rapidly rumble the closer she came to Antonio and the other body. The golden watch correspondingly rumbled from the male's wrist as Antonio soon started to regain consciousness, revealing his tattered and bandaged face to Laura. He was silent. He eyed the few dozens of people that surrounded them before dropping his vision to his right hand that held Lovino's head. Blood was smeared on his palm while crimson was wet and matted onto Lovino's scalp.

Outraged, Laura instructed her men to retrieve the target out of the man's arms,"Get Lovino Vargas and get him medical attention!" A pair of men grabbed Lovino from behind his back and by the legs, taking him out of the room of rubble. When Lovino's leaning body was no longer on Antonio's numb shoulder, he almost felt himself reach out for him. His eye was sore, but he couldn't help but stare awkwardly at the people inside of the room, especially the appearing figure that was walking closer to him from the corner of his eye.

A sharp roundabout kick hit his stomach, knocking him on his side. He looked up to see a blurry womanly figure that towered over him. The figure became clear but blurry on and off as he recognized her face. Another kick met his chest, but this time the heel of her military boot pressed against his ribs. Hurt, distrust, and betrayal were visible on her face as she grabbed his collar to shake him wildly, yanking his head back and forth. She was screaming something. It must've been important since her expression would change into a sad sincerity whenever she mouthed the words "my brother." Senses were at loss, and he felt his body shut down after experiencing countless of punches and deafening shouts. This carried on for awhile until the other troops began to stop her. They pulled her off, and tugged her away to follow the others. Right cheek was swollen pink, bottom lip was busted, and his stomach was bruised. Antonio's body rested on his side, feeling the trickle of blood escape his nostrils and on the surface of his cheek. Three of his fingers touched the oozing blood, his eye stared at the liquid, half lidded, as though he was in a trace. His eyelid felt heavier than usual, and his breathing was slowly coming to a longer and shallow breath. Still, the pain of losing someone was far greater than any physical agony. Pathways that once intertwined with each other had finally parted, going separate ways. But he would never regret meeting Lovino.

...

A year had passed after Operation Inquisition: the standstill of Spain, and his training had been pretty decent. His country had unified with the Greater German People after they had experienced a near financial crisis from the invasion. At the time, he was at the hospital on Independence Day - or at least that was what his mother told him. Supposedly he had suffered from a head injury during one of his missions a few years years ago, which eventually led to memory loss… Antonio knew that she was lying, but he chose not to recall his past. He'd rather focus on the future. Correcting his black tie, Antonio looked in the mirror , rotating his head to make sure he looked presentable. After satisfaction, he sighed nervously and grabbed one of the eye patches that hung on the dresser door and adjusted it to his liking. Smiling to himself in the mirror, he did a few goofy poses before being interrupted by a knock on the door. That indicated it was finally time to go and make history. He followed the guards through a long hallway that led to his mother's office. He passed a Spanish and German flag that hung patriotically on the red painted wall. Decorated portraits of past dictatorial leaders of both Germany and Spain faced each other across the hall. The slicked and shiny dark wooden door was opened as he was automatically greeted with stern faces. He quickly did a salute and walked to his assigned position. He mother was there as well as the dictator of Germany himself, Roderich III. But a new face had caught his attention. The young man's blonde slicked back hair and concentrated blue eyes surprised Antonio. On the profile, it stated that he was eighteen, but it was obvious he was experienced… The teenager was composed and mature for his age. Antonio glanced to his side to the Germans, and then to his mother. The old man begun to speak to the blonde in his native tongue before pointing to Antonio. The blonde nodded his head and turned his body to Antonio to stretched out his hand to formally greet himself. Antonio took his hand and firmly shook it. The blonde finally spoke, "I'm Ludwig, I hope we can be good partners."

Author's Note~

Thanks for waiting! This was actually a very fun chapter to write! With the help of FrauWolf and lmaolevi, I was able to really think hard about the military and government. So you guys better thank these two because if it weren't for them, I don't think this chapter would've been memorable like it was. To clear up the confusion, this chapter was originally posted on Wednesday, but I deleted and posted it on Friday, which is today. Not that many people goes on on a Wednesday, and that was my mistake for not acknowleging that fact. I will mostly post chapters on Friday, Saturday/or Sunday like always.

(=w=)~

Animefreak

FrauWolf - this took awhile. Like, yeah, the author rewrote this a whole lot. There was also at least one scene that didn't make the cut into this chapter, although it will likely be revealed at a later point. Also, the name Operation Inquisition was my idea, because I (and everyone I asked) thought that the original name 'rebirth' sounded underwhelming and less thematically appropriate. Animefreak supposedly researched all kinds of things and she is probably on a government watch list at this point, but at least we finally finished the world's longest prologue. Could've been worse. I honestly don't know what is going to happen, but from what I do know means that the suffering is just starting. How fun :3


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